Valentino Rossi says there will be a lot of fast riders at the 2016 MotoGP season opener in Qatar, which takes place on the 20 March.
Testing ahead of the new MotoGP season took place at the Losail International Circuit, with Yamaha rider Rossi finishing fifth overall on the final day of running.
Jorge Lorenzo was fastest, half a second clear of Scott Redding. But the next 13 riders were separated by less than a second. Rossi expects a tough challenge at the Grand Prix of Qatar and believes the final five laps will be particularly difficult.
"In the end I‘m quite happy. In the last hour and a half we improved the setting and I had quite a strong pace and did a good time attack," he said. "The lap time is not so bad and more importantly I did a race simulation and I was strong.
"I think that it will be quite tough, because it seems that from the first test the other bikes improved a lot, but now we are there at their level.
"I think a lot of riders can be fast for the first Grand Prix, but we are competitive. The last five laps of the race will be difficult for everybody, but the bike is good to ride, so we‘re able to keep a good pace."
