Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were fortun🅠ate to remain upright after a high-speed clash in the early stages of Sunday's thrilling Dutch MotoGP at Assen.&n💧bsp;

Having bolted from tenth on the grid to lead the 𝓡opening lap, Lorenzo had then wrestled the advantage back from Marc Marquez and would keep his Ducati up-fron♔t for the next eleven laps.

But it wasn't without incident.

While Lorenzo ༒was unable to br𓆉eak away, Rossi replaced Marquez as his nearest rival.

The🐽 pair were just a few bikelenths apart when, on lap 5, Lorenzo lost the front of his Ducaꦕti after cutting across the kerb a little too heavily through the fearsome, 200km/h, Meeuwenmeer right-hander.

Lorenzo saved the slide, but the sudden loss of speed meant he w𒁏as promptly rammed by Rossi.

Both riders stayed onboard their machines, which were left baring sc🙈ars from the incident.

"It was a very scary moment there, but I didn't know what happened behind m𓆏e," Lorenzo said. "I didn't know if someone crashed into the b💧ack, I didn't know which rider it was, whether it was Márquez or another rider, but finally it was Valentino. We've been very lucky.

"Still with Michelin, we have a little bit more grip on the 💛edge of the rear tyre than the front. At Le Mans I lost the front, and happened again here. 

"I just went a little bit more inside and I touched the white line and the front cloꦯsed.

"So to avoid the crash, I was almost crashing, but I had to reduce the speed and Valentino didn't expect this lack of speed in that c⛦orner, and he hit me in the back of the bike. 

"Very scary moment, and if it had have been a crash with all the group behind, it could have been v🌃ery very da꧂ngerous. 

"But it was the front 🦂closing, so I was l♒ucky not to crash." 

Rossi said: "We were very lucky, me and Lorenzo, because Lorenzo cuꦦt too much Turn 12, lost the front and I arꦑrived behind with a lot more speed and I hit him. 

"But we were very lucky 🔴because I hit him perfectly [squarely in the back] so we don't crash."

Lorenzo later dropped to seventh place, ending his hopes of three wins in a row, with defending event winner Rossi finishing fifth after a braking-incident with the other fa♎ctory Ducati of Andreඣa Dovizioso.