Rossi says sorry

Casey Stoner's stinging criticism of Valentino Rossi should add a little extra spice to the rest of the MotoGP season, but Rossi says he'll be fighting until the end, speaking out for the first time since his move to Yamaha in 2013 was confirmed.

The Italian rider released an official statement through Ducati, the tone of which suggests he's not overly confident of challenging for a podium position.

"Indianapolis isn’t one of my favourite circuits, although I do have a win there.  It’s a particular track because it’s one of those that goes in the opposite direction, so the lines are a bit strange in many of the corners. It’s a tricky track, but we’ll try to do our best and have fun," said Rossi.

"This break served as an opportunity to make important decisions for the future, but now I want to return to thinking about the races because we want to improve and during the weekend it’s important to focus completely on what we have to do on the track."

After the 2012 season concludes Valentino Rossi will return to Yamaha, the team he won four championships with, and there talk is rife that fellow Italian Andrea Dovizioso will replace Rossi at Ducati.

In April of 2012, Rossi went on record and said he would never leave Ducati: "Leave Ducati? I wouldn't even think of it. We have a contract in place, and I'll give my very best right up until the end."

Clearly things have changed in the last few months, getting to a level that Rossi couldn't tolerate.

Rossi used twitter account (@valeyellow46) to talk about his disappointing performance with Ducati, expressing remorse and regret for not living up to expectations.

"It's a great pity I couldn't be competitive with Ducati, it would have been great satisfaction for me and all the guys who worked with me and all our fans. I'm sorry," tweeted Rossi.