You are here

MotoGP, Lorenzo: "I hope Phillip Island is just a negative moment."

"I knew I was going to suffer on this track. Marquez surprised me. He's incredible. Rossi's 400 GPs? Good times, when we were the best."

MotoGP: Lorenzo: "I hope Phillip Island is just a negative moment."

Share


It's becoming increasingly difficult to comment on Jorge Lorenzo's performances. The Phillip Island race was the lowest point of his (short) experience with Honda, riding with times equivalent to the Moto2. It's not sarcasm but the truth, and the rider from Mallorca is the first to admit it.

"What happened? What I had expected before arriving in Australia,"  he admitted. "I wanted to be more competitive, but I wasn't. I struggled with everything. There wasn't one single point on the track where I was fast. It was my worst result since my return after the injury. How do I react? You always have to be ready for everything in sports."

The gap with Marquez was huge: one minute and 6 seconds under the checkered flag.

"I know, I ride the same bike, and he won," he continued. He really surprised me today because I thought Vinales was going to win. We're also one point behind Ducati in the team rankings. We're about to get the triple crown, and that's incredible because I'm not helping any."

Lorenzo leaves Australia without even one point.

"Just look at my performance in my last two years. I've always suffered with the Michelins at Phillip Island, even more with the wind," he underlined. "Starting from the warm-up lap, I realized that the rear tire had no grip on the left side. I tried to handle it, but it continued to skid. This is a special track for me, but in a negative way. I hope, and believe, it was just one of those moments. It's true that Kallio and Rabat withdrew, but I arrived last, and that's the truth.

Jorge also revealed that he suffered physically.

"Because of the wind, you had stay really pressed down on the fairing and use more force in acceleration. I felt pain in my neck and where I was injured," he revealed. "Besides that, I wasn't well. I hope things will change in Sepang, at least at the same level as Motegi."

Where he took 40 seconds from Marquez in the race. He'll have a few days to prepare. Meanwhile, before leaving the circuit, he commented on Rossi's 400 GPs.

"Those are a lot. Valentino has had an incredible career, winning and fighting against various opponents," said Jorge. "He means so much to the MotoGP because of his popularity and his charisma. If our championship has this visibility, it's also thanks to him. And, at 40, he still manages to battle against the best riders in the world. There were years when we were the best on the same team. Those were good times."

Translated by Leila Myftija
__

Related articles