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 MotℱoGP testing Qatar.
Unfortunately for the Ducati rider, when temperatures began to drop during the final hour so did his performance and he ended up fifth fastest, althougไh just 0.370s froܫm Yamaha's Maverick Vinales.
"Mainly the track changed [compared to Thailand] and together with the track I im🍷prove the results," ꦆLorenzo said of the difference in his performance.
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 Qatar.
Unfortunately for the Ducati rider, when t🔯emperatures began to drop during the final hour so did hi𝔍s 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 result⛎s," Lorenzo said of the difference in his performance.
"I could be very qꦛuick from the beginning with good pace until the last hour when the temperature of the track went low and humidity increased. Then I didn't have the same feeling. So we need to understand why.
"Al🌃so we changed the tyres and all the feeling changed. But until the last hour I was very competitive and led the classi🔴fication 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 GP18 to help understand the root of his issues in Thailand and later said he needed a 'mi😼x' between the two.
For Qatar, the triple MotoGP champion had someꦬ chassis parts aimed at mimicking the feeling of the GP17, with the new GP18 engine.
But it wasn't a success and Lorenz🌜o stuck with the standard GP18 on d🌳ay one.
"Here I don't have completely the 2017 bike, I have a chassis that wants to simulate the performance of the 2017, but today it didn't woᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚrk like that.
"So it's going to be c🙈omplicated to make a mix between the engine ♏and the chassis.
"So for the momᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚent 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 neeꦚd to understand the way, to get this perfect potential. Still be don’t find itཧ."
Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was second fastest.
Two more d൩ays of testing remain until the start of th𒈔e new MotoGP season.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury is⛄sues.