Source: Supplied.

Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi saw his chances of a first Mugello victory since 2008 go up in smoke when his YZR-M1 motor expired mid-race on Sunday.

Challenging teammate Jorge Lorenzo after starting from a heroic pole position, the 37-year-old encountered a ‘technical problem’ on lap nine of 23 that put him out of the race.

“It’s a great shame, because it’s always a pity when you have a problem with the bike in the race, but here even more so because it was in Mugello in front of all the crowd,” Rossi reflected.

“I was very competitive in the race and very fast, I had a good start and I was there. I think I could have fought for the victory because I had a very good feeling and a strong pace.

“It’s also a great shame because this zero points score for the championship weighs very heavily. Lorenzo and Marquez finished first and second, so now the distance is hard, but it’s like this.

“The positive thing is that I was competitive over the whole weekend and I was strong. I could have fought for the victory, so now we wait for the next race in Montmeló – Catalunya is one of my favourite tracks.”

Rossi is now a full 37 points in arrears of defending champion Lorenzo – who suffered a similar drama during the morning warm-up – six rounds into the season.