Valentino Rossi has said that his victory at Qatar MotoGP was one of his best ever.

Rossi won the opening race of the season after duelling with Andrea Dovizioso throughout the event.

"This was one of the best victories for me," Rossi told Sky Sports News. "The bike was fantastic, I never gave up but it was a real fight with the Ducatis and the Hondas who were really strong.

"I'm so happy for me, for the team and for Yamaha. The second part of the race was really good and I'm very happy because we had difficulties in testing and practice but my experience helped today.

"This is a great, great victory but I had a good feeling this morning."

Rossi is looking to win his seventh MotoGP World Championship, with his last win coming in 2009.