Vinales challenge to Moto GP maestro

VALENTINO Rossi will rev up for a 10th world title tilt amid a field of young rivals, including new Yahama teammate Maverick Vinales, as the Moto GP season roars into action in Qatar this weekend.

The floodlit Losail Circuit in Doha will host the only night race on the 18-stop world championship calendar on Sunday.

The sandy, windswept track on the outskirts of Doha is one which the 38-yearold Italian superstar knows well, having won on four occasions in 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2015.

But the veteran Yahama rider, winner of seven Moto GP world titles, and two in 125cc and 250cc, finished off the podium last year, with former teammate Jorge Lorenzo taking top spot.

Rossi’s glittering 20-year career has been tempered by frustration and he has not won a world championship title since 2009.

He finished runner-up for the past three years amid tense rivalry with Lorenzo, with Rossi even accusing world champion Marc Marquez of conspiring to help Lorenzo win the title in 2015.

Lorenzo has since moved to Ducati, leading to rising star Vinales joining Rossi at Yamaha.

Vinales proved he could be a challenger to the maestro as he outshone Rossi in winter testing at Sepang, Phillip Island and Qatar earlier this month. – AFP