After difficult winter tests and a difficult start to the season, Lorenzo finally found himself in Austin on the second row of the starting grid, with a respectable sixth place despite a passage through Q1. He was the fastest Ducati rider in qualifying, proving things were getting back to normal.
Jorge's start to the race was good, with sixth place after the first lap, before he was overtaken by his teammate Andrea Dovizioso. As the rounds go by, Andrea Iannone and Danilo Petrucci passed him in turn and Lorenzo finished in ninth position. Chronometrically, his progress was significant. 20.516 behind the first in Qatar (a circuit favorable to the Ducati as proven by Dovizioso's second place), he finished at 17.979 in Austin, on a track which is much less so.
In the race, he achieved his best lap during the fourth loop in 2'05.756. This was 0.857 slower than Marc Marquez, but indicated progress for the GP17, now faster than the GP16. Jorge is therefore still far from being able to aim for a podium, but developments are going in the right direction.
According to Jorge Lorenzo, “I was faster this Sunday than since the start of the weekend, with a pace of 2'05.7 that I have never had during testing. I was even catching Andrea in the middle of the race, but then I started to lose grip at the front because the right side was graining and I had to slow down a lot.
“Iannone caught and passed me very aggressively in a corner, and I had to cut the track and lose two seconds, and then Petrucci passed me too, so I decided to finish the race in ninth position . It's not what we expected or what we're here for because we want to fight with the Hondas and the Yamahas, but it wasn't possible. The good thing is that we are much, much closer.
“Of course we can't be satisfied with the final position, because our target is much higher, but for the feeling and the pace we took a small step forward in this race.
“My position in the saddle is a little better than in Argentina, as I showed in the race. The important thing is to feel comfortable on the bike, to feel natural and to be able to attack and enter corners with confidence. This race was not perfect, but we are moving forward, and I stayed behind Andrea who has been with the team for five years, so he knows the bike well. »
Before flying to Spain, Lorenzo summed up his final assessment: “ Overall, the race went better than expected, at least compared to my practice and qualifying pace. Of course we can't be satisfied with the final position, because our target is certainly much higher, but for feeling and pace we took a small step forward in this race.
“Everything went more or less as I hoped until the front tire started to grain and I lost contact with Dovizioso. Without this problem I think I could have finished the race just behind him, but the situation got worse in the last few laps and both Iannone and Petrucci passed me, so I finished seventh. »
#AmericasGP MotoGP Race: Ranking
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 43m 58.770s
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 44m 1.839s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 44m 3.882s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 44m 6.408s
5. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 44m 6.727s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 44m 12.828s
7. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 44m 14.261s
8. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 44m 15.542s
9. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 44m 16.749s
10. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 44m 17.264s
11. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 44m 17.673s
12. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 44m 27.505s
13. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 44m 28.811s
14. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 44m 30.134s
15. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 45m 5.317s
16. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 45m 20.860s
17. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +2 laps
Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* DNF
Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) DNF
Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) DNF
Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) DNF
Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) DNF
