Fresh from buying the Istanbul Park circuit, Bernie Ecclestone weighed into MotoGP’s sponsorship crisis with a radical idea to revamp the sport. But the Formula One guru’s suggestion that the 125cc and 250cc series be downgraded from World Championship status was dismissed by Valentino Rossi, who said that there was no need to make MotoGP more exclusive.

Ecclestone is not alone in his thoughts, with other high-profile figures believing that MotoGP would attract sponsors if it distanced itself from the support classes. The British Ilmor team’s MotoGP journey lasted one race this season before it pulled out because of spiralling costs, while even Kenny Roberts’s established team were in danger of going the same way until a casino in Las Vegas stepped in to make up a 20 per cent shortfall.

Rossi, who was fourth fastest in practice for tomorrow’s Turkish Grand Prix, said that MotoGP has developed so quickly that everyone knows that it is the elite. “There is no problem in having three classes,” he said.

He also disagreed with Ecclestone’s assertion that there is no way that he will switch to Formula One. “I would have loved to have seen him join Ferrari, but he would have to be stupid,” Ecclestone said after sorting out a deal that will keep Formula One in Turkey until 2021.

Rossi is contracted to Yamaha for 2008, but he said that he may move to four wheels, although Jerry Burgess, his Yamaha crew chief, revealed for the first time why he snubbed Ferrari last year. “He said to me, ‘When you give the bike on Sunday, it’s up to me to make a difference. I can put some of my character into the bike,’ ” Burgess said. “In Formula One, he was just another thing bolted into a car. There was no self-expression because if he made a mistake he would be told he had two laps to pass or he would have to pit.”

Rossi leads the MotoGP championship by nine points from Casey Stoner, of Ducati, and Dani Pedrosa, of Honda. Stoner was fastest in practice yesterday and Rossi admitted that he was worried. “The Ducati is quick, but Stoner makes the difference,” he said. “He rides like a devil.”

Burgess was phlegmatic about MotoGP’s sponsorship problems. “Until the manufacturers say it costs too much, we’ll be like thesix o’clock news to Dorna \ — we’ll be on every night whether there’s any news or not,” he said.

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