Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo has blamed cold tyres for the Misano MotoGP crash today that saw his gap to Valentino Rossi at the top of the championship table extend to 23 points in the Italian’s back yard.

Lorenzo looked like he had the dry pace to disappear into the distance but, as with Silverstone, rain fell and he was passed by Rossi while Marc Marquez kept a watching brief. As the track dried, Lorenzo came in one lap before his nemesis but it was for nought as he lost the rear with seven laps left to run while Rossi finished fifth.

"Two races with bad luck in a row, because the circumstances were wet and abnormal. In Silverstone I didn’t have the confidence and here I didn’t have the pace to warm up the tyre well, so I entered the corner with slicks that were still cold and lost the rear,” said Lorenzo.

“I think I’ve been unlucky this year in general, but especially these last two races, because I could have won both or finished second, but that’s racing. In previous years, my rivals in the championship crashed and this year it’s me who’s unlucky, but all is not lost. If I win all the coming races I can still become the World Champion and it wouldn’t matter in what position Valentino would finish in.”