Yamaha bullish on Jerez chances

Valentino Rossi had to settle for second in Qatar after being unable to fend off Casey Stoner's more powerful Ducati on the Losail track's long main straight.

But having set the fastest time in last month's qualifying simulation at Jerez, Rossi reckons that his Yamaha is better suited to the twisty Spanish circuit.

"I'm feeling confident for Jerez, I think it will suit our bike very well, even better than Qatar, and we were very strong (at Jerez) in the test," he said.

"We know we lack a bit of horsepower but I think this will improve race-by-race and Yamaha are working very hard.

"I don't expect it to be a big problem in Jerez as it's a different type of track."

Team manager Davide Brivio believes that Yamaha's Jerez test form - and the fact that they were only narrowly beaten by Ducati in Qatar - bodes very well for the Spanish GP.

"We're happy with the way the season started in Qatar because we saw that our bike is competitive and ready to win races," said Brivio.

"We were on the podium and that is our target at every race this season because that's where the serious points are.

"Now we're looking forward to Jerez, a circuit where we tested well at and got lots of good information, so hopefully there will be no surprises.

"We're also confident that the difference between our bike and others in straight-line speed won't be as much of an issue there."