Valentino Rossi says he has no regrets about moving to Ducati after a tough debut season with the Bologna factory saw the Italian icon fail to claim at least one victory in a season for the first time in his 16-year Grand Prix career.
When Rossi quit Yamaha after a glorious seven year spell that saw him capture 46 wins and four world titles, many expected him to be competitive on Ducati�??s notoriously finicky Desmosedici.
But the 32-year-old scored just one podium in Le Mans and struggled all year to cope with a vague front-end feeling from the GP11.
But in a world exclusive interview with the latest issue of MCN Sport, Rossi said he had no regrets about moving to Ducati.
He said: �??Sometimes I regret it but once I start to think more deeply it is something that I had to try, so for me it is not a mistake. The fascination of this challenge is great and I still feel that way.
"It is better to try and have some problems than never try at all and wonder for the rest of my life, what if? I race and I make all the choices of my career like this, and I have a lot of fun because of that.
"So despite what�??s happened at the end I have no regrets. The first to be let down is myself and all the people that work with me, and I know the fans are waiting and they expected much better results.
"Sometimes in the past I have been able to start from 11th on the grid but still win the race. So this year when I�??ve been in a similar situation they have expected and thought it was possible to do the same.
"But I wish it was like this. I am very sad to let down all my fans but this story is not finished. It will be difficult but we can only do better.�??
Rossi believes the toughest year of his career will only galvanise him and Ducati and help him return stronger in 2012 for the inaugural 1000cc MotoGP world championship.
�??For me a season like this helps me become stronger. A season like this doesn�??t change how I feel about my future. I want to stay some more years in MotoGP and I am convinced that I can comeback at the top and fight for the important positions.
"For sure it will be impossible to make 11 victories in one season but I can stay on the podium often.
"My first target is to try and comeback at the top with Ducati and we have to do this. We can�??t finish this story like this and we have to bring the bike to a good level and bring the bike closer to the Honda and Yamaha.�??
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