Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi admitted that Austin MotoGP winner Alex Rins was simply better on the day, taking victory from the Monster Yamaha man in the dying laps of yesterday's race.

Rossi thought he was on for a win when runaway leader Marc Marquez crashed but the opposing strengths of the Yamaha v the Suzuki meant Rins had all the grip on the run to the flag and Rossi had very little.

“I’m very sorry for the victory. When I saw Marquez crash, I say, ‘Maybe I can do’, but after that Rins arrived," said Rossi, speaking at the track.

“Sincerely I pushed at the maximum, the race was very fast, but in the end he was better than me, he ride very well and I’m not able to overtake.

I did two mistakes in braking, if not maybe I can try one attack on the last lap but it’s like that. It’s a shame because I haven’t won for a long time, but we are strong and we will try next time."

Rossi can take heart from his performance over the weekend as he was at the sharp end for the whole event as he was in Argentina and he took 20 points to claim second-equal in the title chase.

"On the other side, I’m happy because is a good race. I was strong also during the weekend and also last weekend in Argentina. These 20 points are very important for the championship, that is open, so it is more positive than negative.

"I tried to stay close to Marc because I think that he would try to escape. I tried to ride well, stay close to him, but he was a bit faster than me. But anyway, I feel comfortable and I was good."