Marlboro Ducati's Valentino Rossi has spent two days testing the new aluminium frame wrapped around his 1000cc Desmosedici GP12 engine at Valencia only to declare it not much different to the carbon fibre one he used on the 800cc version for most of the season.

Rossi was still 1.5s slower than Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner at the Spanish track and maintains that the problem top which he and engineering head Filippo Preziosi need to find a solution is one of weight distribution, specifically getting more load and heat into the front tyre but he wouldn't be drawn on whether the angle of the engine needs to change.

"With this bike you can push a bit more on the front and it is the feeling I had with the first touch on the 1000cc in Jerez so for some reason you can push more and together with the better engine delivery is a better bike but for me it is not from the chassis," said the nine-time world champion, speaking to bikesportnews.com this evening.

"I think the problem is not the material or if the engine is part of the chassis, I think it is more something else, weight distribution maybe, because from aluminium and carbon, there is not a lot of difference. I think we have to work on the important things for fix some problem with the entry and that is the bigger problem for us when I lose corner speed and laptime. If we are able to fix that problem then we can make a good step.

For sure the 1000cc is more fun to ride and also this bike is a bit better than the 800cc so is a good base for start but we have to work we have some problem and now is a crucial moment from now to February. We have some different things to put together because the testing for February will be crucial and so important. One second and a half off in February will be difficult to recover during the season - make the step now, this is the time."