Rossi eyes England win

DONINGTON – Valentino Rossi hopes to bid a winning farewell to Donington Park on Sunday, as the world championship is staged at the famous English track for the final time.

But world champion Rossi, who has a 14-point lead in the 2009 title race, needs to be aware of the dangers of teammate Jorge Lorenzo and 2007 world champion Casey Stoner who is eyeing a third successive win here on his Ducati.Rossi, who won his fourth race of the season at Sachsenring last weekend, won his first career race at the elite level here in 2000, but hasn’t triumphed at Donington since 2005.The eight-time world champion said: ‘Last year I had a good race at Donington to finish second. I’ve always said that Donington is one of my favourite tracks – it’s fast and flowing but also technical – and also the UK is a very special place for me because for a long time it was my home.’From next year, the British MotoGP Grand Prix switches to Silverstone while Donington welcomes the British Formula One Grand Prix.Rossi admitted it will be tough to say goodbye to the circuit.’This is the last year we are going to race here which I am really sad about, but that makes me even more determined to try to win, for me and for the fans who have always treated me like one of their own,’ added Yamaha rider Rossi, who has eight wins in all categories here. – Nampa-AFP