Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo reckons that a lap-counting error could have cost him the win at today's Sachsenring MotoGP race in Germany after he finished just 0.099s behind team-mate Valentino Rossi.

The Spaniard says he thought that after he passed Rossi right at the end of the race he had more laps in hand to try and break The Doctor but it was not to be and Rossi was able to get back past

“Today was a very hard race because this track is slow and twisty and you have to use all the strength in your body to ride at the maximum. Keeping pace with Valentino today was a big challenge for me, especially since I’m not at full fitness after Laguna, so I am happy that I was able to push him until the end," said Lorenzo.

"Passing him was very difficult because he braked hard and late every time, and in fact I made a bit of a mistake because I thought there were a few more laps left when I passed him! I hoped to overtake him and then try to pull away but it didn’t work out today.

"Of course I’m disappointed to lose another very close race, it is always sad but I know that we are capable of fighting with him and considering his experience this is something I must be proud of. Second is important today and we still have a long way to go in this championship.”