Rome, June 1 2006 

Having laid to rest the question marks regarding his future, world champion Valentino Rossi will try to relaunch his bid for the MotoGP title on home turf at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello on Sunday.

The five-times MotoGP champion ended months of speculation today, when Yamaha announced he had decided to stay with the team in 2007.

Rossi's test drives for Ferrari raised expectations that he was preparing for a switch to Formula One.

A poor start to the season with Yamaha then led some to suggest he might be tempted to jump ship and sign for rival manufacturer Ducati.

In recent years, Rossi has been untouchable on the twisting Italian circuit in the hills just north of Florence, winning four times in a row.

The man who used to push him hardest at Mugello, fellow Italian Max Biaggi, is no longer in the sport, but Rossi probably faces his toughest test as he aims to grab his fifth straight victory.

Yamaha's failure to deliver a truly competitive bike has hit Rossi hard. He has not started on the front row of the grid in 2006.

A single race win in Qatar in April has been offset by a slew of disappointing results -- from 14th-place in the opening race of the season in Spain to a pair of non-finishes in the last two rounds in China and France.

The race at Le Mans two weeks ago was probably his most frustrating yet. Rossi fought his way into the lead only to retire with a broken engine eight laps from the end.

His failure to earn a point left him eighth in the overall standings on 40 points, 43 behind championship leader Nicky Hayden.

Italians Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi are tied in second place on 79 points.

Both would relish the chance to win on home soil and go top of the standings.

The experienced Capirossi has a great record at Mugello. He won the race in the old 500cc category in 2000 and has finished on the podium three times since then.

Melandri, however, is one of the most in-form MotoGP riders this season.

The 23-year-old was the main beneficiary of Rossi's retirement at Le Mans -- going on to take the chequered flag for his second win of the season.

REUTERS PG PC1838