HRC boss Livio Suppo admitted that his team had to change tactics before the start of Sunday’s Argentine MotoGP race and put Marc Marquez on the softer tyre as title rival Valentino Rossi was quicker on the hardest option.

Marquez had opted for the the yellow-banded extra-hard but then changed to the red hard (the softest available to factory bikes at Rio Hondo) to try and get away and then manage the drop while Cal Crutchlow acted as a spoiler further back.

“We knew that with the same tyre Valentino was faster so the strategy I think was correct. The plan was to escape and then manage the tyre until the end, which went ok until almost the end,” said Suppo, speaking in Argentina.

“It is a pity we didn’t see a good battle between Vale and Marc but this can happen.”