By Julian Shea

With five MotoGP left, Capirossi is fifth in the world standings

Loris Capirossi says his MotoGP world title hopes are still alive after his win at the Czech Grand Prix.

The Ducati rider's win in Brno was his first since being injured in a crash in Barcelona in June and he told BBC Sport he was still a title contender.

"After the crash in Barcelona I came to every race in bad shape and lost confidence and points," he said.

"I came back after the summer in good shape. I'm 51 points behind with five races left - we'll see what happens."

Capirossi won the opening race of the season in Jerez, and before the crash in Catalunya he was second in the standings.

But his runaway victory in Brno last time out revived his championship hopes.

He burst past pole sitter Valentino Rossi at the start and was never challenged for the lead, with championship leader Nicky Hayden coming home in a shock ninth place.

The fact there are five racers in the championship and it is going down to the last five races makes it one of the best seasons of MotoGP Loris Capirossi

Fellow title contenders Rossi and Dani Pedrosa were locked in a race-long battle for second place, won by Rossi.

Speaking at the London launch of V-Power from Shell, Capirossi insisted he had earned his victory, and it was not just because Rossi was more concerned with beating Pedrosa than coming first.

"Valentino worked very hard to get pole for that race, so he wanted to win it," he said

"Afterwards, he said 'you beat me, but I tried really hard'.

With five rounds of the championship to go, five riders - Hayden, Rossi, Pedrosa, Marco Melandri and Capirossi - are all still in with a shout of the title.

The next three races - Malaysia, Australia and Japan - are over consecutive weekends, and Capirossi says this could prove decisive in the most open championship race in years.

"The fact there are five racers in the championship and that it is going down to the last five races makes it one of the best seasons of MotoGP to watch," he said.

Capirossi suffered chest and abdomen bruising in Barcelona

"The bikes are all close, the riders are all strong and we have so many different winners - but I think the next three races are the most important races of the lot," he said.

"We are out of Europe, there are 75 points are up for grabs and normally we have a good chance because Malaysia is a good track for our set-up."

Capirossi says Ducati's smaller resources make it hard for them to compete with Yamaha and Honda on a regular basis.

But he is hopeful that might change next season with the introduction of 800cc bikes.

He has tested Ducati's 2007 model, and is very excited by the prospect of riding it.

"My initial impression of the new bike is amazing," he said.

"It's less powerful but the weight is the same and it's much easier to ride.

"We tested in wet conditions and it was quicker than I was on the 1000cc, and in the dry I was within 0.3 secs of the 1000 cc race lap record. I will be a serious challenger on this bike next year."