Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi secured second in the 2016 MotoGP title chase with his runner-up spot at Sepang today but front tyre wear prevented him from challending Andrea Dovizioso for the win.
Rossi’s target was to finish in front of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo - which he achieved as the Spaniard gathered third place - but said that when his medium front Michelin ran out of grip, he could do nothing about the Ducati man.
"My first target was to arrive in front of Jorge for the second place, but I wanted also try to win, because I felt good with the bike from the beginning,” said Rossi, speaking at the track.
"But I had to fight a lot with Iannone, and Iannone was fast. After, when I went in front, I was optimistic, but when the water on the track got less and the temperature got higher, I was a bit in trouble with the tyres, especially with the front.
"I had two moments, I risked too much, I did a mistake and in that moment Dovizioso was too fast and he went."
