EVEN before he crashed out of the Grand Prix of The Americas, Valentino Rossi was already in a world of trouble.

Rossi’s streak of 24 consecutive race finishes came — quite literally — to a crashing halt in Austin, the front end of his Yamaha sliding out from underneath him as he raced through Turn 2 on only the third lap.

But his troubles hadn’t started there.

REPORT: Marquez wins four straight in Austin, unbeaten in US since 2010

RACE CENTRE: Click here for full race results from Austin MotoGP

NOT AGAIN...: Dovizioso gets taken out for the second race in a row

Rossi charged into second place through the first corner of the race, ranging up alongside eventual Marc Marquez as they rushed through Turn 2 for the first time.

But the Italian’s Yamaha was already in a bit of trouble.

“At the start unfortunately I burnt the clutch,” Rossi said.

“I was third but the clutch slipped a lot, so I had to go slow to try and recover the clutch and I lost some positions.”

By the end of the first lap Rossi had faded to sixth. He was in the same place at the end of the second, but was almost two seconds behind race leader Marquez.

He wouldn’t make it to the end of the third.

“I was not so far, I felt good with the bike, we worked well during the weekend and I felt fast,” he said.

“I had the feeling the clutch was coming back already but I entered turn two, I didn‘t feel from the bike I was too fast but looking at the result maybe I was ...”

Rossi took full blame for the mistake that caused the crash, saying this year’s Michelin tyres are much less forgiving than the Bridgestones they replaced.

“This year if you make a small mistake, you pay,” he told crash.net.

“Because at that corner I entered at the same speed, but have two bumps - maybe I was more inside and I lose the front. So you have to concentrate, be precise and try not to make any mistake in the race.

“When I understand [what had happened] already the bike was 30 metres or more in front of me!”

The Circuit of The Americas has never been a happy hunting ground for the Italian, who struggled in MotoGP’s first two visits to Austin before finishing on the podium last year.

This weekend marked the first time Rossi had qualified on the front row, and he had high hopes of once again making a post-race trip to the podium.

While he was uninjured physically, the same can’t be said for his title hopes.

Rossi built his 2015 campaign on relentless consistency, finishing every race inside the top five, leading the championship until the final day and only just falling short of a remarkable 10th title.

Instead, he leaves Austin on exactly half the points of fierce rival Marquez, 33 to the Spaniard’s 66.

“It’s a shame because we lost some points in the championship and also because we could make a good race,” he added.

“The positive side is that we are strong and very fast, so we will be ready for Jerez.”

The next round of the MotoGP World Championship is the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on April 24.