English
Italiano
He nearly made it, missing out by less than a tenth. For the first time, Lorenzo had the chance to break the Marquez trend, at least in qualifying. Mission failed but the real fight comes on Sunday.
It's hard to tell whether Marc's being tactical when he says “I'm not as sure as the other years, I can't start saying OK, I'll win for the fourth time”. The fact remains that the Spaniard has finished out front in every session and right now it's difficult to envisage him not winning the race.
“I'm in pole, but our rivals are closer. I have good pace but my advantage is smaller. The Yamahas are going better on the hard rear", observes Marquez. As if he has doubts about the Michelins.
“I want to get a clear idea in warm-up, today we've made some set-up changes but I'm not sure if the bike is better or worse - he continues - The Yamahas are at a good level, it won't be easy to beat them. We need to understand the behaviour of the tyres in the race; up until now they've been fine, but completing 21 laps is a different matter”.
Lorenzo is hoping for a chink in his rival's armour. “You should never say a rider is unbeatable - underlines Jorge - Anything is possible in a race, a mistake, different sensations, the tyre performance. I'd say that if there's a year I can win at Austin, it's this year. The difference with Marquez is less”.
He has a card to play, but will it be enough?
“I've found a good setting and it's a shame I missed out on pole by so little - he continues - We've got closer to the Honda and I don't think it's because Marquez has got worse (he laughs). If anything we've worked to improve the braking phase and the Michelins are also giving us a hand ”.
The Spaniards have laid their bets, and tomorrow's we'll see who cleans up.
