Valentino Rossi ‘suffering’ but won’t leave Ducati

Valentino Rossi has played down rumours he is considering walking away from Ducati in the wake of the scathing comments he made about his GP12 machine after the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Italian endured a dismal opening weekend at Losail on the way to a lowly tenth place finish at the chequered flag, the former champion venting his frustration in post-race comments by declaring 'the problems with the bike haven't changed, and neither have my requests. It's unrideable, and it doesn't make much difference what track we are on.”

Such comments have raised speculation that Rossi is considering leaving Ducati, but the man himself has now moved to quell such rumours, even if he reiterates his unhappiness with the current situation.

Speaking after receiving the infamous Tapiro d'Oro, a prize handed out to Italian celebrities who have endured 'a week to forget', Rossi insists he will continue to work on finding a solution.

"This is one of the most deserving of these prizes given history,” Rossi told Italian television station Canale 5, who gave him the dubious 'accolade'. “I am very 'attapirato' [I have a long face] because I am not competitive. I cannot ride at 100 per cent, while the others are stronger. I want to win and I suffer when we are so far behind.

"I will stay with Ducati. We will do everything we can to make Rossi-Ducati work. We'll try for every race and never give up.”