There would not have been a Jorge Lorenzo severely impacted by this decision, it would have gone unnoticed. Which ? The one that definitively sealed the fate of the manufacturers' test drivers in this 2020 season yet to be launched. They will not make a wild card. By that, mean that they will not be invited to any Grand Prix. New to the job and with a contract of only one year, Jorge Lorenzo counted a lot on these appearances to completely find himself behind the handlebars of the Yamaha M1. But it’s the near future that is now blurred…
The team manager of the official team Yamaha in MotoGP is not the last to regret the fact that with the new situation born from the Covid-19 pandemic, he cannot exploit the skills of a Jorge Lorenzo became his test pilot: “ there was a joker but we won't be able to play it » confirms Mayo Meregalli. " At the Sepang test, he was not prepared at all, the agreement had just been reached before leaving and we tried to find a last minute solution. We would have liked to run it more. »
« From the start, on the saddle, it was natural, loose, nothing like his last races. I am convinced that if it had not started raining in the last half hour of the third day, he would have driven the fastest » continues the man Yamaha . “ Physically he still wasn't perfect, but a quick lap he would have done it. I'm really sorry I couldn't get him to make a joker. A race was planned in Barcelona, where we should have had new equipment ready to try so that we could use it afterwards. »
“The testing program has been temporarily suspended and we still need to do the new one”
« In addition, we had thought about another wild card, in Misano or Motegi, but that will not be possible. Jorge has two years of experience at Ducati and one at Honda and he could definitely give us something. It is also very sensitive, it's a shame not to be able to use it as we would have liked. The testing program has been temporarily suspended and we still need to do the new one. » Mayo Meregalli thus recognizes that the test team is on technical unemployment and without plan B. Which does not bode well for Lorenzo looking ahead to 2021…
To the question about a possible renewal of the agreement between Por Fuera and Yamaha, Meregalli recognizes that nothing is done: “ I find it hard to put myself in Jorge's place, I saw him very relaxed and happy in his new role. It seems to me that he is enjoying life a little more and at the same time he can still ride a motorcycle. Maybe making one or two wild cards a year would allow him to have fun and keep up. We haven't thought about anything else for 2021 yet, even though the contract with him is only for one year. » What the coming crisis will leave as a budget for a test team will certainly be a determining element in the choices to be made.
