Iannone: Victory seemed possible prior to accident

Iannone had just passed teammate Andrea Dovizioso for second and was closing in on Lorenzo when his race came to an abrupt end on lap 11.

"I had a good feeling with the bike, I rode without difficulty, [didn't have to] push very hard to ride fast and I'm very happy for this," Iannone said after the race.

"But when arrive on the race, everything is different and more difficult - not to ride fast, [but] to not crash.

Asked whether he felt victory was within reach, Iannone said: "Sure... I think we had a very good potential for the podium. I don't know in 28 laps what [would] happen, but for sure, we - before the crash - have a very good pace. Why not?

"Sure, [it would be] a very great fight with Jorge, but I think we had this potential today."

Can't explain crash

Insisting that he was riding comfortably, Iannone was at a loss for what brought on his race-ending tumble at Garage Vert.

"I don't know what happen. Is very difficult to explain what happen in my crash because... from the beginning, I have a very good feeling with the bike and especially in the first three, four laps, I push more with the braking and with the front tyres and I don't have any problems.

"Is very strange, I think is very important to understand the situation with the team, with the engineers - the situation is very difficult for everybody."

Additional reporting by Michael Duforest