Randy Mamola: Why are MotoGP riders crashing so much in 2016?

Crashes are a part of every rider's life, as they need to learn how to face them when they happen and try to make their consequences have as little mental impact as possible.

The ones that affect you the most are those the cause of which is never found, but each rider tries to deal with them as best as he can. In my case, accidents rarely had an influence on my races, despite the fact I crashed more than a few times.

This year we are seeing many more crashes than usual, to the point where, at Assen, we saw something unprecedented: all the riders in the MotoGP field hit the ground at least once during the weekend.

The crashes happened under different circumstances but all have a common denominator: the tyres.

Uncharted territory

With the Michelins, we are seeing a new scenario that is forcing all riders to adapt to it. Some, like Marc Marquez, are doing great. Others, like Jorge Lorenzo or Valentino Rossi, are having a harder time.

In the Netherlands, the majority of the problems arose because of the difference in grip between the rear and the front compounds in favour of the former. The grippier rear puts pressure on the front, which in many cases can't withstand it and folds.

We also can't forget that Michelin has just returned to the championship and is still learning many things.

If to all that we add the fact that there was hardly any wet running during the pre-season, because no one wanted to take risks or get injured ahead of the start of the season, it's normal that the development of the wet tyres is still some way off. This is another of the problems created by the lack of testing.

We are in a year of survival, and that's why I find it surprising that it's Rossi who has failed the most. You'd think that, given his experience, he would be the one who reads and interprets the situation better to know when to push and when not to. 

On Sunday he crashed while leading the race after seeing how Yonny Hernandez and Andrea Dovizioso had ended up on the ground. That's why he was so hard on himself when explaining a mistake that's rare for someone as good as he is.

Lorenzo's stumbling block

In Lorenzo's case, however, I think his poor weekend is down to a mental block that is directly linked with his past experience at Assen.

Jorge crashed here three years ago, also in the wet, and hurt himself. It's possible he doesn't even see it clearly, but I'm convinced that it's still in his subconscious and it becomes evident in difficult situations like Sunday's. 

It's not normal to see him so rigid on the bike, without flow or movement or sliding, like at the Cathedral.

If he had been quick on Friday, he could have probably lifted some of the weight he feels when he arrives at this track. But it wasn't the case: he wasn't as quick as the frontrunners in the first two sessions and, on top of that, he crashed on Saturday while running pretty fast.

I believe that in Jorge's case, his biggest virtue becomes his biggest obstacle in such complicated situations. His unique riding style, which allows him to be faster than anyone on corners, has helped him achieve so much success.

But at the same time, and as he himself admits, it is so personal that it makes it harder for him to come up with an alternative plan when things go wrong.