Ben Spies says he apologized to his Yamaha team but has little explanation for what he labelled a "pathetic" Spanish Grand Prix.
In contrast to his works Yamaha stablemate Jorge Lorenzo, who challenged for the lead and finished second, Spies cut a disconsolate figure as he dropped out of the top 10 early on. He eventually finished 11th, having been shadowed by Randy de Puniet's CRT Aspar Aprilia in the latter stages of the race.
Spies said he was puzzled by his slump, which followed a similarly weak display in the season-opener in Qatar.
"I don't really know what happened, I got off to a pretty good start from the line but after that I didn't have a good feeling with the bike," the Texan said. "It was a pretty pathetic race really for me.
"I've apologized to the team and we've had a long meeting about what I was feeling with the bike. I just wasn't comfortable.
"I rode as hard as I could but the speed just wasn't there. We need to find something because we can see the Yamahas are working well but my feeling with the bike is not great. It was a bad day at the office today."