By Sarah Holt

Rossi (left) and Burgess aim to turn round a difficult season

Yamaha chief mechanic Jeremy Burgess expects world champion Valentino Rossi to bounce back strongly from the latest setback in his troubled MotoGP season.

Rossi battled through a hand injury to second at Sunday's British Grand Prix but Burgess is confident the Italian can add to his three wins this season.

"Once Valentino is fully fit we'll be on top again," Burgess told BBC Sport.

"We've been quite unlucky this year with several different problems but we are not panicking yet."

Rossi's tilt at a sixth straight world crown during his third season with Yamaha has been hit by technical problems.

He is fourth in the championship standings, 46 points adrift of leader Nicky Hayden.

Rossi retired in Shanghai and Le Mans and admitted he had to battle with the bike to notch up victories in Qatar, Italy and Catalunya.

In another twist of fate, the Italian then fractured a bone in his right hand and disclocated an ankle bone during first practice at last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

Valentino's success is down to his personality - he's professional, focused, intelligent and a hard worker Yamaha crew chief, Jeremy Burgess

Despite the injury setback, Burgess believes his team have now developed a YZR-M1 bike to match Rossi's ambition.

"The extra grip of the new Michelin tyres created some vibration problems which have taken some time to solve," Burgess said.

"We wanted to find a way to use the new tyres without the chatter difficulties (where the tyre grips and slips on the track) and so Yamaha developed a new chassis.

"Since we began using the new chassis at Le Mans we've made massive steps forward.

"Everything seems to be working fine now. You don't learn anything in this business if you don't have problems.

"The mood at Yamaha has always remained positive and we've dealt with the problems so far and will continue to deal with them in the future."

Rossi has pledged his immediate future to Yamaha and MotoGP, despite further links with a switch to Formula One, after signing a new one-year deal.

Rossi thinks he needs a month to recover from his wrist injury

Burgess says the 27-year-old has set himself new targets in MotoGP, especially with the introduction of new rules in 2007 to downsize engine power from 990 to 800cc.

"The challenge of the new format with the reduction in engines is exciting for both rider and engineer alike.

"We all believe there is more to come from Yamaha and Valentino is still enjoying it, that's what is important."

Burgess has been Rossi's right-hand man for six years, helping him to win five back-to-back titles with both Honda and Yamaha.

Before working with Rossi, the Australian mechanic masterminded world titles with Wayne Gardner and five-time champion Mick Doohan.

Despite his vast experience, Burgess shies away from taking credit for their success and has developed a theory that the race is 80% determined by the rider and 20% by the bike.

"My role is to prepare the best possible machine for Valentino to race, it's very simple," said Burgess.

"In a sense it's a partnership - he's wanted to continue it for this long, as have I.

"But I would say that all of Valentino's success is down to his personality. He's professional, focused, intelligent, very skilled and he's a hard worker."

The British Grand Prix at Donington will be live on BBC Two at 1215 (BST) on Sunday 2 July