Seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi expects more from his Yamaha bike if the Italian is to be competitive in 2019.

After finishing the 2018 campaign 123 points behind Marc Marquez in the riders' standings, Rossi was hoping for a positive end to the year during testing in Jerez.

However, the 39-year-old could only manage the 11th fastest time on Thursday, trailing Takaaki Nakagami by 0.651 seconds.

Team-mate Maverick Vinales fared better as he finished just behind second-placed Marquez, leaving Rossi desperate for improvements at the next testing day in Malaysia next February.

"It was a little better," said Rossi when asked for his thoughts on his day.

"But for me we have a lot of work to do if we want to try and be competitive, especially with Ducati and Honda, but also with Suzuki.

"I hope Yamaha continue working and pushing to have something better in February.

"We have to work in all the areas because we still suffer. These two tests [Jerez and Valencia] were not so bad, especially this one. But we need to continue to work."

While Rossi waits for Yamaha improvements, champion Marquez was happy with the performance of his Repsol Honda.

"Some of the updates were very good and some less so, as is normal," he told the team's official website.

"We improved in the engine area but we have to continue working on this, and on the chassis area as well. We have a lot of information to analyse now.

"At the end of the day I put the soft tyre on for the first time and we did a good lap time, even though that wasn't our main priority.

"We're happy with how the test went and now it's time to take a rest!"