[Acidreign]

LONDON (Reuters) - Yamaha have brought Valentino Rossi's 2005 bike out of retirement to help the MotoGP champion overcome problems with his new machine.

The 27-year-old Italian fell at the first corner and finished 14th in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, the first time in six years that he has not won the season-opener.

Rossi stayed on at the Jerez circuit on Monday for an afternoon of testing, completing 72 laps including some on last year's YZR-M1.

"We decided to have Valentino ride the 2005 M1 for a few laps so we could compare its performance at this track with that of the new bike," said team boss Davide Brivio.

"It was interesting to see the difference. A few things about the '05 bike are better at the moment, but overall it seems the '06 bike is still a more improved package.

"The data from this comparison should help us a lot as we continue to develop the new bike."

Rossi's 2006 bike suffered excessive vibration at speed in practice and qualifying in Jerez after looking quick in Barcelona tests. The next race is in Qatar on April 8.

((SPORT-MOTORCYCLING-ROSSI; reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Robert Woodward, London Sports Desk; Reuters Messaging; alan.baldwin.reuters.com@reuters.net; +44 207 542 7933))

[nhfirefighter13]

He must be hanging out with Colin too much these days.