9:17 – Valentino Rossi has conceded that he is "not strong enough" in the closing laps of races to fight for this year's MotoGP title, after another late slump at Silverstone.
Yamaha rider Rossi grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Marc Márquez at the start and led for much of the race, only to be affected by rear tyre degradation once more.
Rossi duly fell into the clutches of Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and team-mate Maverick Viñales, losing out to both riders with just two laps to go.
As it stands, Rossi holds fourth in the championship standings, 26 points adrift of new leader Dovizioso, with six races and 150 points up for grabs.
"I have 26 points [to Dovizioso], which is not a lot, and six races to go are a lot, but for me it's difficult," said Rossi, when discussing his title prospects.
"I'm not strong enough in the last laps for fight for the championship."
Rossi was nonetheless encouraged by his performance in his 300th premier class race.
"I was able to ride really well after a great start and I stayed in front and rode on the limit without making mistakes, so I enjoyed it a lot for 17 laps," he commented.
"I knew on the last laps I would suffer a bit with the degradation of the rear tyre, but I think this weekend we improved a lot.
"We're still not at the top, we have to do better if we want to try to win, but it was a good weekend."
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/motogp-news/357612/
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