Valentino Rossi is looking forward to this weekend's British Grand Prix, a track where he holds the record for career wins: seven.
''Without doubt, Donington is one of my favourite tracks and I have some fantastic memories of it, including of course my first 500cc win in 2000, when I had a fantastic battle with Jeremy McWilliams and Kenny Roberts'', Rossi said in a message posted his his Yamaha team's website.
''It's a track that has everything: it's fast and flowing but also technical, although like most people I'm not too keen on the last section,'' he added.
Although he has won the British Grand Prix seven times, in three different categories, Rossi has not won the race since 2005 and just missed getting a podium finish last year.
''I was very disappointed to miss the podium last year because the Donington podium is something special, so I will be aiming to get back on it this year!,'' he said.
''Racing in Britain is also very special for me because I lived there for a long time (1999-2007) and I still like to think of it as my second home. I hope the fans will give me as much support as they always do,'' the seven-time world champion added.
Rossi currently leads the riders standings with a seven-point lead over Honda's Dani Pedrosa, who won the Catalunya Grand Prix two seeks ago in front of Rossi.
Despite missing the last race due to injury, Rossi's rookie teammate Jorge Lorenzo remains in third place and hopes to make up some lost ground in Sunday's race.
He was forced to skip the Grand Prix in Spain after suffering a concussion in a pre-race free practice.
Lorenzo, who injured his ankles in a crash earlier this season, also needed to have a skin graft on the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand due to injures he suffered in Spain.
Doctors have given Lorenzo a green light to race at the weekend.
