Ducati Team's Valentino Rossi (Photo: Ducati Corse)

Meanwhile, Rossi has taken time to deny unattributed stories in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that he is planning to bail out of MotoGP even before the end of this season.

Telegraph writer Tom Cary, claiming only unnamed sources, says that Rossi could walk from Ducati as early as September after the Misano GP, and at the latest at the end of 2012.

Rossi has categorically denied the story saying, "The rumors about my retirement at the end of the year are not true. See you in Le Mans.”

Apart from Ducati's desire to continue with Rossi, no doubt subject to a more competitive bike, there is little doubt that Rossi does not want his career to end in failure.

Rossi is set to participate in a three-day test at Mugello to assess the latest-engine spec following the French GP at Le Mans

"We won't fix all the problems, but if we can make one small step then we will be on the right way for the next step," Rossi said. "If this is the right direction then perhaps we can even make another small step for Silverstone."

The Silverstone timing fits both Ducati's new "common direction" plan and the engine rotation required by mileage and MotoGP regulations.

Rossi was a distant seventh at Estoril and seemingly resigned that for the moment this is his place in MotoGP: "This was a better race than the previous two (Qatar and Jerez) and I was able to confirm the best result of the season so far. This result is our potential at the moment."