Rossi, Pedrosa hopeful for Jerez

Ducati rider Stoner took full advantage of the Italian bike's horsepower to score his maiden MotoGP win, beating Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and Honda's Dani Pedrosa.

But with the Ducati not expected to hold the upper hand at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, Rossi is hopeful about his chances, although the Italian admits the Yamaha is still lacking power.

"We are in better shape than when we were here 12 months ago," said Rossi, referring to the inherent troubles of the early races of the 2006 Yamaha, which struggled with front-end chatter.

"We still need more horsepower. I am still a little bit worried about the race simulation we did here during the test (at Jerez) as it didn't go so well four weeks ago.

"But Jerez is a very special place for me, it's one of my favourite tracks. When I was with Aprilia I tested here a lot."

He added: "Every Sunday is good to win, and I'm here for that. In Qatar the Ducati was exceptional, but here Capirossi and Stoner won't have that advantage because there are no straights as long as there. Here we can start over from zero.

"Pedrosa and myself went very well here during the last test here, and so did our bikes. I think the two of us might be the favourites to win the Spanish GP."

Spaniard Pedrosa, runner-up in Jerez last year, is also optimistic for his home race following a strong test at the Spanish circuit in February.

"We had a good test here a month ago, but we have nothing new for this weekend to test, but a Grand Prix is completely different so we have to restart all over again." he said.