Yamaha was heavily favoured heading into this year's campaign, but while Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo combined for five wins in the first seven races of the season, the marque has gone win-less since Catalunya.

At Motegi, both Rossi and Lorenzo crashed out while chasing after Honda's Marc Marquez, who took victory and was crowned champion with three races to spare.

According to Rossi, the change to Yamaha's fortunes in 2016 came about from the manufacturer not managing to make meaningful progress with its bike through in-season updates.

“For me, we started very well, but in the second half of the season, Honda improved a lot and they fixed the problem they had at the beginning,” Rossi said.

“Yamaha worked, but the new part that they bring to us doesn't work. We never made the step.

“Last year and in the past, during the season, usually Yamaha worked and the bike improved. This year, the stuff arrived, we made the tests - but in reality, we stayed there [on the same level].

“So I think this was the key for the second half.”

While the riders' title has already gone to Marquez, Yamaha is still in contention for the teams' championship and the manufacturers' championship, although it has dropped significantly behind Honda in both after Motegi.