Grey skies over Sepang and a rough day for Andrea Iannone in a difficult race for the team Suzuki Ecstar rider, out of the points zone with a seventeenth place finish.

At the end of the Grand Prix, the Italian points out the usual problems he’s been having this year: “Today the others improved their pace - The Maniac explains - but we didn’t. During warm up we made some steps forward. I was feeling positive and we had the potential for a podium finish, but with this rain it was impossible for me to ride. I didn’t have any grip at the front or at the rear. I don’t know what is going on. Too many strange things happen. In some races we are very fast and in others we are very slow and I can’t figure that out.”

Speaking of strange things that happen, Rossi said something similar about the tyres, but number 29 tries to change the subject at first: “I wasn’t talking about the tyres or anything like that - he specifies - I am just talking about the difficulties we encounter. For example, in Japan we were competitive. The bike was perfect in the water and it had grip. We just had our limitations that cannot be improved this year, but otherwise the bike would have been perfect. At Phillip Island we had difficulties similar to the ones today, but we were not in such a disastrous situation.”

But then Andrea talks about the tyres specifically…

“I finished the race here with the Michelin tyres like new. I don’t know if we worked or not. In Japan, on the other hand, the tyres were worn normally. Here at Sepang my Suzuki slid around all over the place. I wasn’t able to stop it at all, I couldn’t lean and the bike took off even with the throttle closed.”

You still have a chance in Valencia…

“Yes, and I hope that in Spain I will be able to finish my season with a good race, because there wasn't much of a chance today.”