Qatar MotoGP Test: Lorenzo 'very quick' until final hour, '17-'18 mix difficult
Jorge Lorenzo helped♉ draw a line under a lowly 22nd on the final day in Buriram by leading substantial parts of the opening day of MotoGP testing Qat🌟ar.
Unfortunately for the Ducati rider, wꦅhen temperatures began to drop during the final hour so did his performance and he ended up fifth fastest, although just 0.370s from Yamaha's Maverick Vinales.
"Mainly the track changed [compared to Thailand] and together with the track I improꦫve the results," Lorenzo s🎶aid of the difference in his performance.
Jorge Lorenzo🐼 helped draw a line und🐎er a lowly 22nd on the final day in Buriram by leading substantial parts of the opening day of MotoGP testing Qatar.
Unfortunately fo𒁏r the Ducati rider, when temperatures began to drop during the final hour so did his performance and he ended up fifth fastest, although just 0.370s from Yamaha's Maverick Vinales.
"Mainly the track changed [compared to Thailand] and together with the track I improve the results," Lorenzo said of the difference in his ♌performance.
"I could be very quick from the beginning with good pace until the last hour when the temperature of the track w𒈔ent low and humidity increased. Then I didn't have the same feeling. So we need to understand why.
"Also we changed the tyres and all the feeling changed. But until the last hour I was very cꦚompetitive and led the classification for a few hours.
"I🌱 feel much better now [than Thailand]. But I repeat we have to understand what happened when the temperature went down, because we struggled more than the rest. And I would like to improve a little bit the feeling on the front, in general."
Lorenzo had called-up a 2017 Ducati to try alongside the GP18ܫ to help understand the root of his issues in Thailand and later said he needed a 'mix' between the two.
For Qatar, the triple MotoGP champion had some chassis parts aimed aꦫt mimicking the feeling of the GP17, with the new GP18 engine.
But it wasn't a success an♋d Lorenzo stuck with the standard GP18 on day one.
"Here I don't have completely the 2017 bike, I have a chassis that ♏wanꦺts to simulate the performance of the 2017, but today it didn't work like that.
"So it's go♕ing to be complicated to make a mix between the engine and෴ the chassis.
"So for the moment we are concentrating and focussed on the new bike and I think we have ⭕some margin to improve.
"The new bike I think has potential, we need to understand the way, to get this perfect potential. Still be don’t 🥂find it."
Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was second fastest.
Two 🎃more days of test🦩ing remain until the start of the new MotoGP season.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has se🧸en Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.