The MotoGP riders who reached the podium, Andrea Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, were invited to this post-race press conference of the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.
In order to avoid any abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer here a “raw” translation of the entirety of the words of the third, Jorge Lorenzo, after those of Andrea Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso et Valentino Rossi.
Jorge, you are happy and back…
Jorge Lorenzo: “This third place is almost like a victory. When you've won a lot of races, like I've had the opportunity to do in my career, third place isn't exactly like getting a victory, but today it was the realistic position. If nothing strange happened, third was the maximum. I was really focused on trying to do it and I pushed the whole race.
At the start I could have still been faster because I was a little faster than Iannone, especially in FP3. But I couldn't overtake him because he was accelerating, and when braking, when I was really close, he would have braked a little later. I couldn't pass him to stay in the lead and so I stayed calm so as not to make any mistakes and stay second. But Dovizioso overtook me and they increased the pace a little. I couldn't stay the same, especially on the right because the tire was starting to destroy itself. Our bike probably destroys the tire a little more. And we started to lose more acceleration compared to the beginning. So I just had to concentrate on maintaining 25.0, 24.9 throughout the race to avoid Rossi staying close and passing me. I was able to finish in my maximum position today. »
A very important result for you, after the last three races…
“Yes, every time I don’t perform well… “Lorenzo is in crisis.” This has happened many times. But it’s sport and it’s MotoGP¨. Sometimes these things can happen. Circumstances do not follow the best you can do, and you must be patient. Don't get hurt and wait for your moment. That's what I did. Work a lot and wait for circumstances to return to normal. I can fight for victory and be competitive. »
How important is this result in terms of confidence?
“I have always believed in myself and I know that I have often had difficult times in my career, but I have always come back even stronger. I know it's a matter of time to do it. I just keep working. Don't give up because sometimes it's easy to give up when you go to a race and you get one bad result, then another, and another. It's easy to get frustrated and believe in yourself less, but I keep doing it because I know I can do it, because of the past. That's what I did. Today we knew that the Ducatis were on another planet, and our greatest potential, our best place, was third, and in the end we fought with them for victory. I am very happy with the work, the progress and the concentration I had in the race. »
Which tracks are still favorable to Ducati?
“This year, I hope for no (smile) that allows them to win, but yes to finish second or third. This way, if I can win I can reduce the difference with Marc. Next year, I hope for all the tracks! But next year will be next year and this year I will try to end my time at Yamaha in the best way possible to thank them for their support all these years. »
This victory for Ducati reassures you a little for the future…
“I'll be happy next year, in 12 months, or maybe in 6 or 7 months when I get on another bike, but that's the future. It's still a long way to the end. As I told you, I want to finish in the best possible way with Yamaha. Trying to fight for the championship until the end. Try to win it, and if that is not possible, try to achieve as many victories as possible. It's my aim. You will ask me in 6, 7 or 12 months and I hope I will be happy. »
Around 8 laps from the end, you lost 5 or 6 tenths on the Ducatis without anyone being able to see why…
“Yes, I think I made a mistake on one of the brakes. I went a little wide because I braked too late and I lost braking but also a little acceleration because the bike was moving. I lost half a second. From there they also increased the pace a bit and I couldn't keep up.
Were you surprised to be able to follow the Ducatis for so long during the race?
“I was surprised, especially at the start, because I expected Iannone to create a gap with his softer tire at the start of the race, but he probably saved it, the tire or the gas, to the second part of the race, and I was surprised because I thought that if it didn't go like that, then maybe he would be even slower at the end. But it was the opposite. He was getting stronger and stronger. Maybe I kept a margin to be better at the end of the race. »
Were you also worried about consumption?
“Not so much because my team told me that the electronics would manage, that it would sense whether it should cut power or not, so I wasn't very concerned. But I saw a few Ducatis riding very, very slowly, not the official ones, but the private ones. So I thought maybe the Ducatis had some problems. But I wasn't really worried because we have confidence in the electronics. This year it's a little less precise, but they told me it was ok so I had confidence. »
