Rossi says Michelin "behind schedule" with wet MotoGP tyres

Rossi scored his third zero of the season in the last race, following on from his fall at Austin and his engine failure at Mugello, and this week he will arrive at Sachsenring with the intention of reducing the 42-point gap to championship leader Marc Marquez.

At Assen, each and every rider ended up on the ground at least once during the weekend - there were 39 crashes in total - a circumstance that put the spotlight back on Michelin after a few quiet races.

Of the 39 crashes, 14 happened during Sunday's race, which was stopped and split into two heats due to the storm that flooded the track.

In such tricky conditions, under which Rossi's experience always plays in his favour, the Italian paid the price for his ambition and ended up on the ground while he was leading.

The rider from Tavullia was very critical with himself for having made such a rare mistake. When he was asked to explain the reasons why he thinks so there were so many crashes, he had no doubts.

"With the wet tyres, Michelin right now is where it was with the slicks back in March," said Rossi. "After that they worked and improved a lot on the front tyre. With the wet tyres they are behind schedule.

"These tyres have a lot of grip on the rear and very little on the front, exactly the opposite to the Bridgestones we had last year.

"We were used to putting a lot of pressure on the front end and that's why now, as soon as we push the Michelins, we are asking too much of them and the front shuts down."

Lorenzo says Michelin "caught out"

Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi's teammate at Yamaha, has a similar view. The Spaniard struggled in the Netherlands, where he finished 10th, 27 seconds behind the winner, in a heat that was 12 laps long.

"After six or seven years away from the championship, Michelin has been caught out by how powerful and heavy the bikes are, and with fewer electronics," said Lorenzo, who spent all weekend complaining about the lack of feel in the tyres.

"We are having a lot of problems to find the right tyres for each track. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. I hope that with more experience they will get it right more often.

"If I feel the front tyre I can be the quickest, as I've shown. But if I don't feel it, I can be the slowest."