Rossi: riders must take care at start

The 2006 race had to be red-flagged and restarted after Ducati teammates Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau touched at high speed approaching the first corner and triggered a multi-bike accident that left Capirossi, Gibernau and Marco Melandri injured.

"Last year there was a bad, bad accident and at the end it was quite good because the riders had injuries, but not too much," Rossi said.

"I think it's because this first corner is one of the most dangerous in the championship, because it's quite tight but you arrive very fast.

"Everybody has to keep attention and not forget to brake."

Despite his concerns about the first corner, Rossi said he was very much looking forward to racing at Catalunya, where he has won five times in MotoGP - including three straight wins since 2004.

"It's fantastic, there is strong braking and long, long corners like Turn 3 and Turn 4, you spend a lot of time on the edge of the tyre, and a lot of sliding under acceleration because of the camber," he said.

"Also you have the hairpin and the technical last part. It's very good and in MotoGP it's very exciting."