Spain's Dani Pedrosa took victory in an eventful German MotoGP on Sunday.
Rossi slid off the track on lap five
Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, looking to make up ground on championship leader Casey Stoner, slid out of the race on lap five as he tried to overtake.
But Ducati rider Stoner failed to capitalise and the Australian struggled home in fifth in sweltering conditions.
That left Pedrosa to take the chequered flag on his Honda ahead of Italian Loris Capirossi, with Nicky Hayden third despite starting in 14th.
Stoner, who started from pole position on Sunday but suffered suspected tyre problems, extended his lead over Rossi in the championship standings to 32 points with just under half the season left.
The 21-year-old said he had problems with his tyres and had no chance of catching the leaders.
"By the end of the race I was really struggling so to pull fifth out of that was a real positive. I was just hoping to finish the race to tell you the truth," he said,
Rossi was disappointed not to have closed the gap on his young rival.
"Unfortunately I made a mistake and I would like to apologize to everyone, my team, my stable and my fans," said Rossi.
"I lost a few places at the start and had to wait a lap to start pushing forwards. Overtaking De Puniet was difficult because during the sections where you can overtake he was very fast.
I feel great and this is a result I want to give to all the fans who have supported me
"Eventually I tried it on a more difficult section of the track, I got passed him, but I lost the front end.
"I'm really disappointed because the bike was in top condition and I lost out on the chance to close the gap on Stoner.
Pedrosa, however, was overwhelmed after taking his first victory in more than a year.
"I'm so happy," he told BBC Sport. "I want to thank all the team. I feel great and this is a result I want to give to all the fans who have supported me."
Capirossi, who has been linked with a move away from Ducati, secured his best finish of the season.
His high finish was all the more surprising given that other riders using Bridgestone tyres struggled.
"I wouldn't say it was easy but I made a different choice of tyres to the other Bridgestone riders," said the 34-year-old.
The riders now travel to the United States for race 11 on 22 July at Laguna Seca near Monterey in California.
German Grand Prix result:
1. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda, 41 mins 53.196 secs
2. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Ducati, 42:06.362
3. Nicky Hayden (US) Honda, 42:09.976
4. Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha, 42:11.495
5. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati, 42:24.622
6. Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda, 42:25.113
7. John Hopkins (US) Suzuki,42:26.591
8. Anthony West (Australia) Kawasaki, 42:34.390
9. Alex Hofmann (Germany) Ducati, 42:36.410
10. Michel Fabrizio (Italy) Honda, 42:37.655
1. Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) KTM, 41:16.191
2. Mika Kallio (Finland) KTM, 41:16.310
3. Alex de Angelis (San Marino) Aprilia, 41:16.465
1. Gabor Talmacsi (Hungary) Aprilia, 39:30.802
2. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan) KTM, 39:34.334
3. Hector Faubel (Spain) Aprilia, 39:34.412