The three test sessions carried out so far by Lorenzo on the Ducati have been sometimes exciting, sometimes disappointing. His eighth place in Valencia, when he discovered the Desmosedici, was all the more satisfactory as it only placed him 0.035 behind Valentino Rossi, and 0.3 behind his new teammate Andrea Dovizioso.
Sepang was not going so badly because behind Maverick Vinales in 1'59.3, we found the Ducati ofAndrea Dovizioso in 1'59.5, of Casey Stoner in 1'59.6 and Jorge Lorenzo in 1'59.7. Jorge was 0.399 behind his old Yamaha now driven by Vinales. The results when leaving Malaysia were not triumphant, but they were not worrying. Improvements could be made to the Desmosedici for Phillip Island, allowing both the team and driver to get more out of it.
In Australia, the result was disappointing. Lorenzo eighth was only 0.793 behind leader Maverick Vinales, but he was also dominated by beginners like Jonas Folger et alex rins. Excellent rookies, certainly, but what was the five-time Spanish World Champion doing 0.3 behind the German rookie? Jorge had his own idea on the matter: “The layout of the Phillip Island circuit is very different from that of Sepang. The bends are not designed in the same way, and you can only open very little on the entire circuit because the straights are very short. The wind is also important, because for example the best times on soft tires were achieved in the morning of the third day, while I only fitted the soft tires in the afternoon, when the wind was significantly stronger . I could have gained three tenths, but that was not the priority.
“We are still working on making a more complete bike, because we are still not competitive on every circuit. If we still had the wings, and Yamaha and Honda hadn't progressed by then, we could already win in Qatar. Anyway we still have one more important test in Doha before the opening race. On the Friday of the Grand Prix, I will be able to tell you if I can win in Qatar. In the past I have always been very competitive at Losail and this year I come a lot stronger, so I think I can do well there, but for sure Marc Marquez and Maverick Vinales look really strong this year
“We have not yet managed to be competitive on all tracks in terms of race pace. We need to make the bike turn faster in the middle of the corner. On the racetrack we can work on tuning, but there are many factors involved and tuning is just one of them. At Phillip Island, the boundary is more obvious because we stay on the corner longer. I feel a more complete driver compared to last year but I am now focusing on the race perspective. My goal is to win the title this year. »
