Clearly riding with a comfortable pace on his YZF-M1, Rossi made a small mistake when trying to pass fellow Yamaha rider Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), which put him out of immediate contention for the win: “I didn’t want to overtake Zarco, but after you overtake there is slipstream and air, and this is difficult to control so I went wide and at the moment Marquez overtook, who was followed by Dovi. I tried to overtake, but at that moment all the wolves behind were attacking – they were trying to take a leg or my arm! Without that mistake I might have had the pace to fight for the win with these guys, but I don’t know if I am able to win.”