Rossi issues ultimatum
Valentino Rossi has issued an ultimatum to his Yamaha team after missing out on the MotoGP crown for a second season.The irrepressible Italian was second fastest in qualifying for Sunday's Australian MotoGP, with Honda's Dani Pedrosa on pole and 2007 title-winner Casey Stoner in third.
Five-time champion Rossi said: "Yamaha have to show me something now, make a good bike for 2008. If nothing changes, I can look for another opportunity."
Rossi's contract with Yamaha runs out after the 2008 season.
The 28-year-old won the MotoGP crown every year from 2001 to 2005, three times with Honda and twice with Yamaha.
He added: "I gave a lot of success to Yamaha in these past years, now I wait for something from them.
"If we want to win the title again then we need the people in Japan to put in more effort. We need to be more aggressive and brave in the development decisions."
Saturday's qualifying session at Phillip Island saw Pedrosa clock one min 29.201 sec, 0.218 faster than Rossi.
Home hero Stoner, who won the title two weeks ago in Japan, was 0.615 off the pace, third-fastest on his Ducati.
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