Just when it looked liked the ‘Doctor’ had clawed his way back into the fight for the title, Rossi was caught out by the tricky conditions at a wet Assen, crashing while leading the restarted race. Another disastrous result followed in the flag-to-flag race at the Sachsenring, as Rossi could only manage to cross the line in eighth. This has left Rossi’s hope of a tenth title in tatters, as at the halfway point of the season he now finds himself trailing Marquez by the margin of 59 points in the championship.