This year's MotoGP championship could be decided here on Sunday if Honda's Nicky Hayden wins the Portuguese Grand Prix and reigning champion Valentino Rossi fails to place higher than fifth in the next to last race of the season .
However, the Yamaha rider and current champion is confident that this is not going to happen and he feels his sixth title in a row is clearly within reach .
Speaking ahead of the first practice session for Sunday's race, Rossi said "I think this championship is only going to be decided on the last lap of the last race in Valencia" .
Rossi is currently 12 points behind Hayden in the standings and the Yamaha rider observed that "with two races to go that's not much. Last year here I had big problems with my tires but I still managed to make the podium and picked up 20 points" .
The seven times world champion said his strategy to clinch the title was simply to "make it to the podium in both upcoming races and collect more points than Hayden does without making any mistakes" .
Hayden has seen his lead over Rossi shrink from 51 points at the end of July to only 12 points over the past four races .
Since winning the USA Grand Prix, the Honda rider has come in fifth three times and was fourth once, while Rossi has won once, come in second twice and placed third .
Rossi said he felt he had an advantage over Hayden because while the American is forced to defend himself, he has to catch up and is thus more motivated .
The Yamaha rider sized up his Honda rival as "a tough, determined and consistent rider. He's improved a lot this year... but he still lacks that extra something, the ability to really turn it on during the last laps" .
Looking ahead to Sunday's race, Rossi said "I don't think the championship will end in Portugal. This will be an important race but not the most important. I'd say the next two races are of equal importance... And I'd like to clinch the title on the last lap in Valencia". If the championship does go down to the last lap of the last race, the 27-year-old Italian rider had no doubts: "if we go one-on-one, I'll beat him" .
