You are here

MotoGP, Lorenzo: "The soft Michelins? Like chewing gum"

"Rossi is ahead of me in the standings, but what happens between now and the end doesn't determine a rider's worth"

Lorenzo: "The soft Michelins? Like chewing gum"

Share


Last year he played the starring role at Brno. Today, however, was disappointing. A black Sunday for Jorge Lorenzo and his Yamaha at the Czech track, with the rider having to deal with Michelin tyre difficulties. As well as not scoring any points, the Majorcan sees his team-mate Rossi move ahead of him in the standings.

The expectations were very different.  

“Of course I'm hugely disappointed because I could have finished third, even second. Before the problem with the front tyre, I had good pace, despite struggling through the second half of the track. So I decided to come in because Dovizioso was suffering with the same problem".

What happened during the bike swap?

Maybe they weren't expecting me to come in, to carry on with slicks. So I got on the second bike to allow the team to finish work on the first. I'm sorry, because if it hadn't been for that setback, I had the pace to be with Rossi and Marquez”.

Is the Yamaha so hard to ride in the wet?

Our bike goes well in certain wet situations. When there's a lot of rain we struggle, but in conditions like today, with the hard tyre at the rear it's easier. I thought the track might dry out, if it had I'd have improved my times”.

A lot of riders suffered with the Michelins.

“The soft tyres is like chewing gum, after ten minutes it's still like new. The Bridgestones were hard, they would wear and you'd notice it. The degradation of the Michelins isn't normal, they need to make a step forward. We saw yet another new problem in this race. Today the hard compound was the winning solution, but the choice was far from easy”.

Valentino is now ahead of you in the standings.

“I don't think what happens between now and the end of the year will change a rider's worth. Many things can happen, like Rossi' engine failure at Mugello for example, or the tyre wear that I've suffered today”.  

Translated by Heather Watson
__

Related articles