Rossi in pain

The fitness of eight-time GP world champion Valentino Rossi has been the topic of much discussion in recent times, what with his knee and shoulder injuries in 2010. However the charismatic Ducati Team rider appears to be working hard to return to full race fitness.

As the hype builds ahead of the Sepang Test next week (February 1 to 3), where almost all teams will in attendance to shake down their new race machines, Rossi has been spotted testing a race-prepped Ducati 1198 road bike at the Misano race track in Italy.

The pre-season ride at Misano was organised to allow Rossi to push his body ahead of the Sepang test, and though he confirmed there was still pain in his shoulder, he said that changes to the riding position and other elements of the Ducati Desmosedici GP11 race bike.

"Once we’re there [in Sepang], we’ll work with the riding position in an effort to make the most of the situation and collect important information with the Desmosedici, even though I’m not in top form."

Rossi explained in detail how his shoulder felt during the test, which will no doubt delight his rivals in the MotoGP paddock: "The [Misano] track more or less confirmed what we expected: the shoulder is painful, especially under braking, when the front area hurts, where they stitched the tendon.

"Movement is stable enough, and we’re also doing not so bad with endurance, but apart from that, it hurts a lot and isn’t very strong. Let’s hope it gets a little better in these next few days before the test in Malaysia."

Despite the pain, Valentino Rossi was in a buoyant mood and even commented on the Ducati 1198 Superbike, lauding its looks and its power. "Today I did a total of 25 laps on the 1198 Superbike, which is sort of a 'historic' motorcycle for Ducati: beautiful and fast. I liked it!"

Read the latest Bikesales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at