Valentino Rossi is aiming to help his rookie brother, Luca Marini, as the pre-season testing begins it’s final trio of days at Qatar this week. 

Despite working for competing manufacturers, Petronas Yamaha’s Rossi is hopeful that he will be able to assist his Ducati-mounted younger brother as Marini prepares to make his full-time debut in the premier class this season. 

Speaking at the end of the first Qatar test, Rossi confirmed: "Unfortunately, I haven't seen Luca on the track and he hasn't seen me. Here in MotoGP, it's always very difficult to organise a run together but for sure before the end of the test we will do some laps together.”

Rossi was forced to conclude his initial test with the Petronas team frustrated and in a lowly 20th - two places and one-tenth behind his brother’s best. The veteran Italian continues to struggle with the ongoing issue of lack of grip that has plagued him in recent years, however, with a further three days of track action ahead, he is optimistic they will find the solution he needs. 

“It was not a good day for me, I was not fast enough. I always struggle with the grip and this was not fantastic. We tried a few things but at the end we don’t find a very good grip and acceleration for exit from the corner. Anyway we will check the data to understand and try to be ready for the next test.”

Marini, however, seems confident enough with his early progress, having spent the first test concentrating on his riding style. The 23-year-old confirmed: “I work on my riding style, especially on the braking style, and now I’m in a good level - or maybe the shape of the braking is quite similar to the very top guys with the Ducati, so I’m happy about this.”