Rossi eyes Losail Circuit title

Losail, Qatar:

Defending champion Valentino Rossi and Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards topped the timesheets in testing on Monday at the Losail Circuit in Qatar. Suzuki's John Hopkins was just behind in third with he and new partner Chris Vermeulen split by Tech 3 Yamaha rider Carlos Checa. Spaniard Checa was quickest on Sunday in the absence of Rossi and Edwards but his second day was ended abruptly by a crash. The Spaniard suffered concussion but hopes to be back out again. Rossi, who had three days of testing with Ferrari's Formula One team last week, was three-tenths of a second quicker than Hopkins. Edwards was just 16-hundredths of a second slower than his more illustrious team-mate and Rossi was able to reflect on a good day's work. "The bike gives me a good feeling. Also the engine is very smooth in acceleration so I'm happy. And it's just the first day, we have another two days and we hope to do good work," said Rossi. With F1 aspirations to one side for now, the Italian looks determined to take his sixth consecutive title in motorcycling's premier class.