Rossi has been the man to beat in pre-season testing, however his history at Qatar isn't so strong.

Fiat Yamaha Team MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will kick-start his campaign for a 10th title when the 2010 title gets underway at Qatar this weekend, the Italian eager to commence the new season.

Last year saw Rossi take his fourth title for Yamaha and the ninth of his career and, with 103 race wins already under his belt, the Italian hero has nothing left to do to cement his place in the history of the sport.

Despite 14 seasons in the World Championship the 31-year-old still has the same hunger and desire for victory as he did when he first started out and he claims that this year will be no different.

Rossi has been in intimidating form during pre-season testing, finishing fastest on five out of six days, and he looks to have already found an excellent base setting for the 2010 YZR-M1. Rossi has won only twice before in Qatar, last year he finished second after starting from the same spot. He will be looking to go one better this time and take his first victory in a night race.

“Finally we’re at the start of the season and we are all very excited,” Rossi said this week. “The pre-season has gone well for me, our new M1 is good, Yamaha and Bridgestone have done a great job and we have been fast. We have only had six days on track so we still have work to do and things to learn about the new bike, but we are starting in good shape.

“I expect this season to be a big battle with many riders very strong, and I hope that we will show some good racing to the fans! Qatar hasn’t been one of the best tracks for our bike in the last few years but at the test we went well so I hope this will continue again for the race.”

Lorenzo gave his more experienced team-mate an exciting run for his money last season but the 22-year-old eventually settled for the runner-up spot, an impressive feat nonetheless in just his second year in the premier-class.

This year the Mallorcan’s pre-season has been interrupted by a hand injury sustained in a fall with his motocross bike and he missed the second Sepang test, but he was back on board for the recent Qatar outing.

Although still not at 100%, he is well on the way back to full fitness after an intensive physiotherapy routine at home in Barcelona. Qatar will always bring back memories of his thrilling 2008 MotoGP debut, when he burst onto the scene with a fantastic pole position and a second-place finish, while last year saw him make a solid start to the season by finishing third behind his teammate.

“I am not perfect yet, I still need more time to recover 100% from my injury, but at least I can ride in Qatar,” Lorenzo explained. “I am very happy because we are so close now to the start of the season – it’s been a long winter!

“Unfortunately, I had some troubles in training and hurt my hand, but these things happen. Qatar is a very special track for me – it was the place where I got my first podium in MotoGP in 2008. I know this time it will be more difficult, but I will try to be close to the action.”