Ageless Rossi ready to give it another shot

Italian star Valentino Rossi heads into his 18th year of bike racing with the intention of dominating the new MotoGP season which starts on Sunday at Qatar's iconic Losail International Circuit.
Rossi, riding for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, will launch the 2017 season with new teammate Maverick Viñales at the night race in four days' time.
“I'm very happy that the season finally starts. It‘s been a busy winter and it was  challenging, and now I really need to race," Rossi said. "You know I start every race with the intention of winning. I feel the same way now."
"Our bike has improved a lot during the winter and, although we are not yet OK, we will work hard during the next few days in Qatar to be ready for the start of the first race of the season," the 2015 Grand Prix of Qatar champion said.
Rossi, 38, and Vinales, 22, will have four practice sessions, the qualifying session and the warm up run before the lights go out on Sunday.
"We will see what the weather conditions will be like and then we will try to find the best set-up possible. I‘m confident that together with the team we will be ready for Sunday," Rossi said.
MotoGP World champion Marc Marquez - the Repsol Honda Team star - yesterday said he was happy with his bike settings.
"This pre-season was better than last year. I am happy where we are. My team feels more comfortable at the start of the new season. We will see how things are. We want to do a good job. I feel good with the bike," Marquez, the youngest-ever rider to win three premier-class World Championship titles, said.
He added: "This winter, we had some changes o the engine side, We are working hard to find the best set-up. We will know more in a few races.The first race of the season is always a special one because you’re a bit more nervous than usual! The Qatar track is also one of the most special circuits on the calendar and one of the main things to consider is the sand, which can make the surface quite slippery as soon as you get off the best line. The limit is very narrow."
Former world champion Dani Pedrosa, who finished in top 5 of every pre-season test session this year, said there were improvements to be made.
“We worked well with the team during the entire pre-season, including the last test here in Qatar, and little by little we improved our bike and our performance," Pedrosa said yesterday.
"There are still things we want to improve here and there but they never stop working in Japan, and we’ll also do our best to continue in a good direction. The track is very dusty and the place is quite windy, so the grip is generally not very good," the Repsol Honda Team rider added.
"There’s a long long straight where we typically have a headwind and therefore you need a strong engine. It’s difficult to make any predictions for the race as the level of competition is very high, but we’re about to start the weekend with good confidence and the desire to do our best," the 31-year-old Spaniard said.
Rossi's new team-mate Vinales - who impressed at Valencia, Sepang, Phillip Island and Qatar during ore-season testing - feels happy with his new start in the Yamaha camp. Vinales said he is ready to mount a strong challenge in 2017
“I'm really happy to start the first Grand Prix, especially after the tests during the winter were so positive for us. We are really motivated to start this new era," Vinales said.
"After the amazing pre-season, we can‘t wait to finally start racing and work hard over the next 18 rounds. I'm very curious to see how the Yamaha will respond at the track during a race and to see if we are going to be as strong during the race as during the test. I'm so excited to start,” he added.
British rider Cal Cutchlow  (Team LCR) said: "We are quite pleased in the direction we are going. We have to find the right balance. I guess that goes for all the riders. We look forward starting the new season."