An unexpectedly strong weekend at ⛄the inaugural Thai MotoGP ended with Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi third and fourth respectively, both crossing the line within 1.6s of ending Yamaha's record win drought.

Rossi, starting from the front row, was to☂p Yamaha for 18 of the 26 laps - leading the race before being re-passed by Marc Marquez (Honda) and also Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) on lap 11.

The Doctor remained a part of the four-way lead group to the finish, but didn't have 𒉰the pa𓂃ce to attack in the closing stages and lost out on a podium by just 1.1s to Vinales.

"For me, this is t💙he best race for Yamaha in the second half of the season. Thi꧅s is so important," Rossi declared.

"It was a lot better, because we fight in the top group. At the end, unfortunately, we are always struggling a little bit too much with the tyres. But today 𓄧we are not far.

"I'm not very happy because I want to try to go on thཧe podium. But today Maverick was stronger."

Ro♈ssi added that he didn't suffer physically in the extreme heat and described the grand prix as like a cycle race, with the field bunching together while conserving thei🎃r tyres.

"I feel very good [physically] and I arrived at the end of the race with enoug🔥h power to fight," he said. "But I tried for all the race to save the tyres, like everybody, because it's more like a cycle race now:

"Everybody waiting, sometimes one rider 𝄹will push for two laps and all the other guys follow, but after they slow down and another one tries to lead. Now you never push fo🦩r all the race.

"Unfortunately, I tried, but in the last laps I wa⛄s mor💟e in trouble [with the tyres] and I miss these two or three tenths.

"During the we🌞ekend Maverick followed another way with the set-u🐽p. He was able to ride that type of bike and maybe saved the tyre in a better way. So Maverick was a bit stronger than me at the end."

While Rossi's best lap was just 0.029s from the new Buriram ও;record by winner Marquez, it was set on lap 4. Vinales' best lap was 0.1s slower than Rossi, but set on lap 16.

Ei🔯ther way, Sunday marked Yamaha's first podium sinc♏e before the summer break.

Now Rossi is eager to find out if Buriram was just a💝 blip, or if Yamaha have found something to be competitive in all four remai𝔉ning rounds.

"ꦗNow we need t𝔍o understand how much is this track, or how much we improved the bike," Rossi explained.

"For me, on paper, this track was not a Yamaha track. I expected to suffer a lot more and to be, for exampl🦄e, stronger in Misano. But in Misano we stꦬruggled. So it's difficult to understand.

"But we feel better withꦫ the ♏bike [here], me and also Maverick are strong. Maybe we improved a little bit, but now we have to see in Motegi.

"For me, more than the layout of a track, it’s the difference in the grip of the asphalt that helps us more or less at th🌃e𝄹 moment.

"Th😼e next four races will be very important because we have to try to be stronger and competitive in all the different tracks. Because Honda and Ducati are strong ev💃erywhere."

Dovizioso is now 22-points clear of Rossi in the contest for seco🌃nd in the world championship behind Marquez, with Rossi in turn 26 ahead of Vinales.