Barros: I could have fought Sete.

Alex Barros believes that two incidents beyond his control prevented him from taking the fight to race winner Sete Gibernau at Qatar on Saturday.

The Brazilian had qualified second behind Gibernau, but slipped to fifth at the end of the first lap - a position he held until rammed by Valentino Rossi as the Italian attempted a clumsy pass on lap 4 of 22.

The impact, for which Rossi instantly apologised, forced Alex to run wide, but he recovered quickly... only to become a victim of Shinya Nakano's exploding Kawasaki later on the same lap.

The 33-year-old lost the front of his factory spec RCV on oil and this time couldn't keep his machine on the already slippery asphalt. Barros rejoined the race in 18th and courageously fought his way all the way up to fourth at the chequered flag.

"Really disappointed," sighed Barros afterwards. "I got a bad start and I saw Sete and Checa pulling away so I know I need to catch-up. I pass Xaus and then Valentino touched me and knocked me off line.

"I go in the dirty section of the track and come back a few places later. Then I see the Kawasaki smoking and I am right behind. I brake and I feel the front go so I just run off the track and come back in nearly last place I think.

"I then have to recover everything and we start the race again. I know I had a chance to fight with Sete today. We had a great opportunity and we missed the opportunity. The machine felt good and I need to look positively forward. I need to win. I want a victory. We have three races left this year," he concluded.

Repsol Honda team-mate Nicky Hayden finished fifth.