Rossi admits flag-to-flag races "not my strong point"

Rossi was challenging for the lead of the Czech Grand Prix during the opening laps, but left his switch to the slick-shod bike too late as he pitted on lap 5.

He rejoined the track 12th after his stop and eventually recovered to fourth place, with the riders ahead of him – Honda duo Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales – having all made the switch earlier, Marquez as early as lap 2.

Speaking after the race, Rossi admitted he wasn't the best judge of when to swap bikes in the so-called 'flag-to-flag' races in changeable weather conditions.

“Always difficult in this condition, with the flag-to-flag,” he said. “I think for sure is not my stronger point, this type of racing, but at the end the result is not so bad.

“I think that, in a full dry or full wet race, I can fight for the podium for sure, but [it] remains a good weekend because we work well in the box, I feel good with the bike.

“It's a shame because we can take more points, we can arrive on the podium, but anyway, it's like this, and in this condition fourth place is not so bad.”

Rossi was particularly happy to have improved on the result of last year's flag-to-flag race at the Sachsenring – in which he also left his bike swap late and could only finish eighth.

But while the timing of the stop in that race had been his decision, as he had delayed coming into the pits against the team's recommendations, this wasn't the case at Brno.

“Last year in Sachsenring they [show] me the board but I continue. This time I say: 'When I see the board, I come back [into the pits], I promise.' But unfortunately the board arrived a bit too late.

“For sure, understanding the moment to come back is not my strong point. I think I can come back [in the pits] one lap earlier, but I think that this time we are also a little bit unlucky.”

Honda stronger at flat-to-flag races

Having joked that he was “happy” not to end up the only rider who had left his stop late, Rossi conceded Honda currently has the edge in flag-to-flag racing strategies – but also reiterated his belief that he had been unlucky.

“I think Pedrosa decided to come back [into the pits early] because they study a lot this type of situation, they are better than us," he said.

“And Pedrosa decided to enter and 10 riders followed Pedrosa. I think that time we are also a little bit unlucky.”

Rossi explained that he was caught out by how quickly the track dried – and said he was trying to build a “small advantage” in damp conditions because of Yamaha's lack of pace on the out-lap on slicks.

“Usually in the first lap with the slick, on the wet, we are a bit in trouble with the Yamaha," he added.

“So I try to push as much as possible on the wet because I was strong, to have a small advantage to use [for] the first lap on the slick.”

Additional reporting by Jamie Klein