Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi managed to find some positives from yesterday's Portimao MotoGP despite crashing out.

The Petronas Yamaha rider lost the front of his works M1 at turn 11 as a top-ten finish looked likely but said his pace on the hard Michelin was pleasing.

“It went better in the race today because we improved the bike's set-up, especially for the braking phase. In addition, the hard rear tire gave me a better feeling and more stability,” said Rossi, speaking at the track.

'My pace was not bad, but unfortunately it is always difficult when you are behind. Then I made another mistake at turn one, and I lost a bit of time when I overtook Luca. But I could have made it into the top 10 and picked up a few points.

"Unfortunately, my front wheel collapsed at turn 11. It's a shame because the points would have been good for morale. Nevertheless, the aspect remains that things went a little better in the race today."

The Doctor is confident that he has found a better direction for the next races. “Yes, but it always depends very much on the tyres. Here we were able to use the hard and that means I was able to be faster. The race wasn't bad considering where I started from and my pace was much better than yesterday. I felt more comfortable."