Valentino Rossi has conceded this year's Moto GP world title to Casey Stoner, admitting there is nothing he can do about the runaway championship leader.
Five-time world champion Rossi, 28, trails Ducati rider Stoner, who has won eight times already, by 85 points with only five races left and 125 points up for grabs.
The points situation means that Australian rider Stoner could even wrap up the championship at the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril this weekend, and Italian rider Rossi, who retired last time out at Misano with an engine failure, knows it.
"To be honest the championship is almost out of reach for us, especially when Stoner is so strong," said Rossi.
"So we will put all our energies into holding onto our second place and winning as many races as possible, as well as thinking about continuing the development of our package for next year."
Rossi has won three times this year for Yamaha, but has been extremely vocal about his Michelin tyres, which have failed to match the performance of the Bridgestones Stoner uses and have, in his opinion, been the reason he has failed a more serious assault on the title.
He has won four times at Estoril in the past but last year was beaten to victory by Toni Elias in the closest finish in modern Moto GP history. And he is looking to get back on the victory trail right away.
"Now the aim is to have a good end to the season - we have five races left and we will be trying to win all five, even if the championship is out of our reach," Rossi added. "I've had some good races at Estoril in the past although last year I missed out on the win by a tiny amount!"
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