Valentino Rossi wasn't the on🐟ly Yama൩ha rider struggling for rear tyre grip during Sunday's Qatar MotoGP.

The It♑alian's Factory team replacement Fabio Quar𒀰tararo said that he also suffered similar issues to the #46.

"I struggled a little bit like Valentino. He had the same as me. So it’s quite a strange s♒ituation," Quartararo said.

The Frenchman had taken the fight to the fast-starting Ducatis during the earl🐼y laps but later faded to an eventual fifth place, in a race won by team-mate Maverick Vinales.

"I was feeling so strong from the beginning and as soon as I overtake Jack, I could catch𒉰 Johann so fast," Quartararo said. "But, I felt a big drop on the rea𓆉r tyre that we didn’t expect because in the test and practice, I never had the drop in the rear tyre.

"When Maverick overtook me, he was just in another l𒉰eague. He had much more gri💝p than us."

Quaಌrtarar🔯o insisted that he had been riding as smooth as possible to try and save the tyre.

"Honestly, even when I was overtaking Jack, my riding was smooth," he explained. "I was not burning the tyre like hell to overtake. I was feeling great, doing great corner speed, and just the tyre made a big drop. So this is why I don’t un🐻derstand.

"Also when Maverick overtook me,🌞 I was struggling but I saw he was pushing quite a lot with the tire and everything. I said, 'okay, maybe he will have a drop a little bit later'. But we haꩲd every time more and more and more drop.

"Luckily I hꦍad a great front feeling and I could manage to make the la🐼p time in a different way.

"Now I'm wondering to see [on the data] how Maverick made the first lap, if he was m🔜ore smooth than us or something. I felt like I was riding so smooth in the beginning, and unfortunately I had that drop.

"But I feel happy because whereas last year the mistake that w🦩e do is when we feel not great is we make P14 or cr꧅ash, now we go back to P5. So this is great points for the standings on a tough day like this.

"P5 and three sec𓄧onds from Maverick. It’s not that bad.".

Quartararo wil🦂lꦉ return to the Losail track on Friday, for the start of this weekend's Doha round.

Ducat💎i's Jack Miller was another frontrunner to struggle w🎀ith a big drop in tyre grip, fading to ninth.