Yamaha's Valentino Rossi has conceded that he heads into the new MotoGP campaign "a bit worried" after concluding what he described as a "very difficult" winter testing period in Qatar on Sunday.
Rossi finished only sixth on the combined times across the course of the opening three-day test in Malaysia, and slipped to 12th in Australia, though was cautiously optimistic after placing second to team-mate Maverick Viñales midway through Qatar's final test.
However, Rossi was only 11th on the last day of pre-season testing as Viñales once more led the way on the YZR-M1, over eight-tenths of a second clear of Rossi, who expressed his frustration at the situation.
"We started with the same bike to continue our programme, but unfortunately I didn't have the same feeling and the same speed," Rossi said.
"It looks like the condition of the track changed a bit and we were unable to improve. I didn't have the same feeling as Saturday and I was a bit slower. We put in a lot of effort to go a bit slower.
"I think we are still not ready, we don't understand 100 per cent how to make the bike work at the maximum.
"We are a bit worried because at the end except for some good laps the winter tests were very difficult.
"So now we have to speak together and try to be stronger for the first race. I hope to be faster and more competitive."
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