Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi should get a new and stiffer front Michelin to try at the Argentine MotoGP round today after struggling with the updated hoop for this year.

Rossi - among others - can’t get the corner entry feel he needs as the tyre’s construction is too soft, so Michelin have wheeled out a new tyre which has 2017’s rubber compound allied to 2016’s stiffer carcass. But it hadn’t arrived at the track yesterday due a strike at border control.

“They have a problem at the border, unfortunately today we don’t have it. Maybe tomorrow morning. but unfortunately the current rubber is too soft. So I don’t know if we are able to try it, maybe just for the time attack. It will be interesting to try, but we are in big, big trouble so maybe we will not have time,” said Rossi, speaking at the track.

“Unfortunately I don’t have this entry, I am not fast enough, I don’t have enough feeling and I lose time In Qatar, we were able to improve. We need to improve and we will try tomorrow.”

The Doctor thinks changes to the front are a factor but accepts he is also finding it hard to adapt to the 2017 M1.

“I have always a lot of movement in the front, but especially I am not able to enter fast. I don’t know how much is the tyre, but from me it’s more from the bike. The bike is very different compared to last year, compared to the last Yamaha bikes.

“We tried a lot of things, but essentially I have the same problem as in Qatar [practice]. Last year was a lot more natural. But you see Vinales is fast, always in front, so in the end the bike is good. We have to try to understand.”