And the American 500cc World Champion in 2000 is keeping a cool head as he prepares for the encounter with the 990cc V4 that the teamsters will race in the first new MotoGP season of 2002 – the premier class now open to 990cc four-strokes as well as 500cc two-strokes.

"I haven’t been speculating about the new bike. I don’t care if we’re racing four-strokes, two-strokes, or twins. I don’t care if we’re all on pink bikes – I just want to get back to beating Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi, as I’ve done before" said the Californian son-of-a-legend, in a break to his training regime that is gathering pace as the season draws near.

Since Christmas, Roberts has been intensifying his carefully structured programme – spending two hours a day in gymnasium training, and another four or more out riding, concentrating on the oval dirt-track discipline that is a cornerstone of GP racing technique.

Roberts plans to rely on his usual resources in the season to come, confident that the Suzuki factory’s bold new four-stroke racer represents a similar commitment on its part. Suzuki is steeped in GP racing, with race and championship wins dating back to the Sixties.

"I’m not in racing to finish in the top-10, and the same thing is true of Suzuki," said Roberts. "We all want to win. Next week, I get my first ride on the new bike – but to be honest I haven’t been wondering about what it will be like, or thinking about the four-stroke too much. I’m focused on myself, and in putting in the time and effort to be capable of winning GPs. I want to be in the right frame of mind."

As well as the switch from the V4 500cc two-stroke engine to the powerful new fuel-injected V4 990cc four-stroke, the team will be changing from Michelin to Dunlop tyres, adding another significant variable.

"The new bike and the new Dunlop tyres are a decision by the Suzuki factory," said Roberts, now in his fourth year with the factory Suzuki team. "I go along with whatever decisions they make that will make the bike faster.

"I’ve raced with Dunlop tyres before, and they feel different, and require a different riding technique," said Roberts. "In any case, the new MotoGP machine will have a different power character again, and a different power-to-weight ratio, so again we have to wait and see.

"I’m looking on us using different tyres as another possible advantage. It’s going to be a tough test – grand prix racing’s pretty cut-throat at the moment. I’m confident that both Dunlop and Suzuki are going into this with the aim of winning.

"The fact that the factory brought the four-stroke programme forward to race the machine this season instead of next year means they’ve obviously had good results in their tests. I’ll be seeing for myself next week. I’ve never raced a four-stroke, but I’ve always been sure that you’ll have the same people able to win races on either type of machine," said Roberts.

"From that point of view, it’s just business as usual – and we’re styling. My only goal is to try and win the World Championship again."

Next week’s tests are shake-down runs for the two regular riders, who will join Suzuki’s regular factory testers at the Ryo test circuit. This gives the factory race department the chance to tail-fit the bikes to the full-time riders, before testing begins in earnest in Malaysia in the first week of February.