Ducati Marlboro’s Valentino Rossi has admitted struggling at the British Grand Prix on the weekend, citing bike setup and lack of track experience as the major factors for the mediocre result.

Rossi had a tough weekend at the wet Silverstone circuit from word go, competing on the track for the first time and being forced to start from the back row of the grid.

Rossi did his best to limit the damage and ride through the pack to sixth, staying positive about the weekend’s results and looking ahead in the championship, happy to not lose too many points.

“Without a doubt, this weekend was the most difficult so far this season, but we at least managed to do a good job of limiting the damage,” Rossi explained.

“Considering how we came into the race, sixth place is a fairly positive result that helps us to stay not too far from the top of the standings in fourth, which isn’t bad.”

Like a true champion, Rossi isn’t making any excuses, using the race as a learning experience and moving on with the title chase and development of the Ducati.

“We knew that my lack of experience here compared to the others would hurt us, but it’s also true that we haven’t managed to improve our setup as well as we should have.”

“We didn’t improve enough though, and that made it hard for me, as the bike was difficult to ride and I couldn’t push hard.”

“We’re all responsible—me, the bike, and the team—so together we’ll try to improve and return to the level we were at in Le Mans and Catalunya as soon as possible, and then take another step forward.”

Rossi now sits fourth in the MotoGP series points, 15 points behind third placed Andrea Dovizioso and 48 off current points leader Casey Stoner.