Looking at those pics makes me realize how well Rossi preserved that soft front.
Or was it easier to use less of the front because of the hard rear?
Part of the issue on the factory Ducatis are the massive winglets - they're intended to generate a lot of downforce on the front to minimize wheelies on acceleration, but the price is a lot of additional pressure on the front tire all the time. It's little surprise that both Iannone & Dovi munched a soft front rain tire that wasn't really suited to the weird drying conditions that actually occurred in the race. Dovi did also mention that his efforts to preserve the soft rear tire did add some punishment to the front, so you may be on to something in Rossi's case.
The other issue seems to be the luck of the draw with a tire Michelin hasn't completely figured out yet - Rossi's held together, Lorenzo's didn't, and it seems to have been a bit hit or miss throughout the ranks of the riders who chose the soft front.
David Emmet has his usual great rundown on the whole thing, especially how the soft front tire was as big a gamble on the weather as the hard that Cal chose - but it turned out to be a losing bet.
https://motomatters.com/analysis/2016/08/22/2016_brno_motogp_sunday_round_up_a.html
