Jorge Lorenzo having not reached the podium of the Czech Republic Grand Prix, he gave his own press conference in Yamaha hospitality to address all the subjects, after his race was spoiled by his two passages in the pit lane…
As usual, in order to avoid any sometimes abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer you here a “raw” translation of all of the Yamaha rider's comments.
Jorge, why this altercation with your team, and your two stops?
“First of all, they didn't understand, because when I stopped, the damaged area of the tire was on the tarmac, and so the tire looked perfect. So it was only when they moved the motorcycle that they realized that a piece of the tire was missing. So that's probably why Ramon (Forcada) didn't understand why I wanted to change bikes. So I changed to slicks but the track was too wet and it was really dangerous. I just wanted to finish the lap and change bikes again. It wasn't worth continuing to fly. And it was really bad luck, because with this tire we couldn't finish the race, just like Dovizioso, like Iannone. Other drivers were able to finish the race, but I couldn't. I was probably the fastest driver at the time, with Cal and Rossi, who were more or less the fastest on track. And I felt like I could be even faster, probably finishing 3rd or maybe even 2nd. But I couldn't finish the race. »
Would you have liked to make a different tire choice?
“No, I just wish I didn't have this problem with the tire. The front tire was probably at its limit due to its construction, and some riders had problems, others didn't. But maybe with a few more laps, most drivers would have had this same problem. »
Does your riding style affect the front tire more?
“So it also affects Iannone and Dovizioso, and Maverick, who ended up with problems. I don't think that's the problem. There are probably just small differences between the tires, they are not the same, and my tire, probably... (silence)
But I don't know, maybe settings, right? But this should not happen. And that's an experience that Michelin needs to use to try to make a different kind of tire so that this doesn't happen again. Because if the conditions are similar, then it could happen again on another track. And this must not happen. Michelin works very hard, I know that. I'm aware that they worked to improve the feeling compared to the front slick, and they succeeded. They also fixed the problem with the rear tire pieces. But this time, it was the rain tire that had this problem. »
7 races to go and Rossi said he was fighting with you for second place in the championship…
“He said he was fighting with me for 2nd place? Well, I want to be champion. I have finished in second place many times. I'm proud to have stayed many times in the last 7 or 8 years, first, second, first, second, third in 2014. But I really want to win. I'm not thinking about the championship, this morning I didn't think about the championship. I just thought about driving as best as possible and getting the best result possible. Then, after the race, we saw the rankings and we saw where we were. But I don't think about the championship, I just think about winning as much as possible. I think here we had a big chance of winning in the dry, it was more difficult in the wet. But today, with the rain or mixed conditions, we had a chance to finish in 2nd or 3rd place. »
Is 7 races enough to make up 59 points?
“Let’s say it’s half and half. Half bad luck, and half bad feeling and poor performance in the wet. These are our main problems. For me, in the rain, but also bad luck. For Rossi, bad luck was to break the engine at Mugello. So this means that Marquez is well ahead in terms of points. And also, hey, he scores almost every best result he can on every circuit. So he does a really good job with the bike he has. And we were unlucky, and for my part, not competitive enough in the rain with these tires. »
Were you expecting a Flag to Flag or wet race?
" I was not sure. I wasn't sure if it would be the same as in Germany because my instinct was telling me that the track wouldn't dry out quickly enough to change bikes. Something told me to take the Hard rear tire, because we wouldn't change bikes. That's why I put the Hard rear, and it was the best option today. Maybe the best option was to put forward Hard, as Cal decided, but it wasn't easy to make that decision. Just like putting the front hard without having tried it during the warm up. Just like the feeling that even the Tendre was too hard in the rain for us. »
