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All you need to do is look at the rankings and see that the best factory Yamaha is Lorenzo’s, finishing on the fourth row to understand just how deep the chasm is in which Yamaha has fallen at Phillip Island. When you talk about a rider like Jorge, the big news is seeing him behind in the rankings.
“I was lucky to go through to Q2 - admits the Majorcan - I started that session with intermediates and it was a disaster. Then I put on slicks and the situation got worse.”
For Lorenzo, today’s conditions were a nightmare.
“The worst possible situation, there haven’t been conditions like this for years - he continues - I can say that I tried, but I never had enough confidence in the tyres to be able to push. Others did, but not me. I have crashed in these conditions in the past and even injured myself, so that is what convinced me to hold back. The new electronics also help less.”
With such dark qualifiers, it’s difficult to think of the race.
“A lot will depend on the weather. If it rains, I won’t do too badly. I wouldn’t be one of the fastest, but I wouldn’t be the slowest either. I’m at midway, certainly better than I was at Assen or on the Sachsenring” he explains.
In the dry, the situation is much worse.
“The problem is that I could not gain confidence - he states - I was not able to push enough to get the tyres up to temp. I am already not usually at ease with the Michelins and today went even more badly. When you are riding and you have an 80 or 90% chance of falling, you think twice before going into a corner without having confidence.”
The problem will be the race.
“Will I be able to stay in the fastest riders’ slipstream? That’s like trying to follow Usain Bolt in the one hundred metres” he admits.
Jorge agrees with those who, like Valentino, are asking to have the date changed for the Australian GP.
“It is only my opinion, but the track was dangerous in Q2 - he says - The circuit is fantastic, but not with these weather conditions. The ideal thing would be to change the date. If all the riders were in agreement, we could apply some pressure. I think perhaps there are political and organizational problems preventing it. We will see if safety will manage to be more important.”
