VALENTINO Rossi expects MotoGP’s switch to Michelin tyres will help boost his qualifying performances in 2016.

Saturday speed was one of the 37-year-old veteran’s weaknesses during his 2015 title campaign.

One pole position to the five scored by Yamaha teammate and eventual champion Jorge Lorenzo only tells part of the story.

Rossi only qualified on the first row at five out of eighteen races, and qualified outside the first two rows on six occasions. He also had to work extra-hard for his two early-season wins, start from eighth place at both Qatar and Rio Hondo.

In contrast, Lorenzo started off the front row in all but four races, often using the advantage to build up an insurmountable gap in the opening laps while his pursuers were scrapping over second place.

Rossi has struggled in qualifying since MotoGP introduced a two-phase qualifying system for 2013, where the front four rows are decided by a rapid-fire 15 minute session.

While Rossi has evolved his riding style and approach to racing radically in order to keep pace with his younger rivals, he has yet to unlock the secret to going flat out from the moment he exits the pits — a necessary skill to make the most of the 15-minute qualifying period.

Unlocking pace from the moment he leaves the pits has been a challenge for Rossi. Source: Getty Images

However, the feel of Michelin’s new tyres has given Rossi hope that he will be able to improve his Saturday form in 2016.

“The last two season were very good for me, and last year better also than 2014, but I always struggling too much in qualifying,” he told FOX SPORTS at the Phillip Island test.

“I think this year the situation will change with the Michelin, compared to last year with the Bridgestone, in qualifying and I hope to be more competitive.”

Although the first and final days of the Phillip Island test were blighted by rain, the mostly dry second day allowed him to gain vital information that will aid his challenge for a 10th world championship.

Rossi preparing to head out during the final day of testing. Source: AFP

“We need to do some other work but a day like this is important for understanding, especially about the tyres,” Rossi added.

“Like in Sepang, also in Phillip Island I have a good feeling with the Michelin, they improve a lot. So we are quite competitive, yes.”

A fact illustrated by his closeness to Lorenzo at the end of Day 2, just 0.047 of a second splitting them in third and fourth on a day topped by Maverick Vinales.

“She is happy,” he said of his Yamaha M1 bike.

“She is happy because compared to Sepang I am a lot closer to Lorenzo. I think that we can fight for a good result because I have good pace.”

The next round of MotoGP testing gets underway in Qatar on March 2.