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The battle is over for Rossi

Even though chances were extremely little to nothing Valentino Rossi kept battling for the MotoGP championship with Casey Stoner. In an incredible race though at the Motegi race track Rossi was unable to finish on the podium. The Italian finished in a disappointing 13th position.

"It's a great pity for us how everything has turned out this weekend, because in the dry we were faster than Stoner and we could have had a good chance," said Rossi about his race. "The first problem today was the weather this morning, but actually we were able to find a good setting for the bike and when the race started we were quite hopeful.

"I got a bad start but on the drying track I had the fastest pace and I was able to make up five seconds to the leaders. After I passed Melandri I came into the box to change and maybe this was one lap too late, but our strategy was more or less okay because I was able to come back into the race with only Loris in front of me. We had an intermediate front tyre, a slick cut which is normal in these situations, but the bike was almost impossible for me to ride and turn and it felt like there was something seriously wrong. I came back in but my mechanics could see there was nothing wrong so I went straight out again, and by then it was too late; the race was over for me and the championship was gone."

"After four or five laps the tyre began to work better and I was able to keep going to the end, but without this problem it would have been possible for me to be on the podium or even to fight for the win with Loris. The conditions were very unfortunate. However this is racing and now we have three more races and we will do our best to find a way to win and end the season on a high note. I'm really sorry for my fans and for everyone in the team. Congratulations to Loris but especially to Casey on becoming world champion. I am very flattered that he made a dedication to me on his victory t-shirt, if someone else has to win then I am glad it's one of my fans! He is a great rival and I hope that we can continue this rivalry into the future."

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