Rossi: "Lorenzo was stronger than me"

Italian legend just pipped to P2 by teammate in Aragon

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi was the man on the move in the early stages of the race at MotorLand as the Italian chased down initial leader and future teammate Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), but Rossi found himself caught by championship rival and leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) after trying to make a break for it. With the second half of the race having proved the worry for the Italian, his fears were proved slightly true as teammate Jorge Lorenzo was then able to reel in the rider from Tavullia, passing him and making it stick - before Rossi made a mistake in the final laps and ran wide; forced to settle for P3.

Valentino Rossi (P3): "The beginning of the race was very fun, a great battle and I enjoyed it. I saw that Marquez' moment in Turn 7 and I hoped his front tyre had issues…then when I was in front I had good pace and tried to push at the maximum but unfortunately it wasn't enough. We worked throughout the weekend to try and be stronger in the second half of the race but unfortunately it didn't work how we wanted it. Lorenzo was stronger than me in the second half of the race. From behind I could stay with him and I wanted to fight down to the last lap, but I made a mistake on the brakes and I cut the corner. But these are important points."