Valentino Rossi began his 24th year of motorcycle grand prix by setting the sixth fastest lap time during the opening day of offi🐎cial MotoGP testing at Sepang.

The Italian had finished the season-ending ꦐValencia and Jerez tests somewhat underwhelmed by t♑he two prototype engine options presented by Yamaha for the 2019 campaign.

Although Yamaha management had suggested there would be some further 🍸engine parts to decide upon this week, Rossi said he has just one type of engine in Malaysia.

"I have just one engine in this test, because the two configurations that💙 we had, now Yamaha bring just one," he said in the paddock on Wednesday evening.

"I'm happy with the choice, yes. Between the two are not a lot of diffe𓂃rence. But the engine is not so bad."

However, Yamaha has made a further evoluti🎶on to the engine favoured by both Rossi and Vinales late last year, leaving the soon-to-be 40-year-ol♚d satisfied.

"In Valencia and Jerez we had really, really small things. Not a lot," the Italian said. "Here we have some biggerဣ things, more🐭 important.

"We work a lot on the engine brake, especially because Maverick always pushes from this point of view and is right. We hav🔥e something better and also some different things compared to Jerez."

The #46 confirmed he expects this engine to b♏e the version he uses when the racing season begins: "Sincerely, I have just one engine and it is more-or-less already d𝔉ecided [it will be raced]."

Rossi added: "I'ℱm happy that - especially when we speak together with t🅘he engineers and also with Maverick - we are all working in the same way.

"So we ar🤪e agreed about the weak point of the bike… From this, to fix, we have to work!"

Looking to rebound from his first ever winless season on a Yama🍒ha, Rossi's priority is to improve the performance 🔴of the M1 with used tyres, which also means making the tyre last longer.

"The first day is quite positive because I have good feeling with the bike from the beginning and it also loo🌱ks like also with🅠 the used tyre, which is our weak point, we are not so bad," said Rossi, who was 0.43s from Honda's Marc Marquez but only 0.12s from Vinales.

"We tried something today that improved a little bit the performance. It's s all together engine, electronics and also chassis side of the bike. We try to work with the used tyres and if you look at the lap times, with the other g🔯uys, we are not so bad.

"For me, we start 𓄧in a good way,꧅ but we need more."

Testing contin🤪ues at Sepang on Thursday and Friday.