Jorge Lorenzo claims he is much better prepared for the opening round of the season in Qatar after a disastrous start to 2014. The Movistar Yamaha rider crashed on the first lap of the Qatar GP in 2014 before jumping the start in Texas, effectively killing off his title challenge, but the Spaniard says he is in a better place physically and mentally to deal with the pressure this year.
“The pre-season is over and I look forward to racing as soon as possible. We‘ve completed a very positive preseason with some benefits in terms of new, mechanical parts and also in terms of performance. We did a great job in both the Sepang tests and we got some clear ideas how to improve the bike. Then we visited Qatar a few days ago but unfortunately there, a track that usually suits our YZR-M1 better, we struggled a bit to get the best set-up. Finally we lost the final day because of the rain and that was a pity, but now we face the first challenge of the championship, the real game, and we go to Losail eager to fight for the first victory. I want to forget what happened there one year ago with the crash in the first lap of the race. Fortunately this year we‘ll arrive in a better shape and we can do even better in the first part of the season so we are quite positive for the starting race.”
Teammate Valentino Rossi pushed Marc Marquez all the way for victory in Qatar last season and is hoping to do the same on Sunday although he expects extremely tough opposition from several riders.
“I am very happy to leave for the first race of the season after many days of testing. I am very satisfied about the tests. The bike has improved a lot, but we still have a lot of work to do. Unfortunately we could not finish the test due to rain and it will be important to resume work on the bike where we had stopped. It seems that in Qatar there will be many fast riders, so we‘ll all be very close in times. At least that’s what the tests told us. I am very excited to start this season. I’m ready, I feel good and also my team is ready. They are all very motivated!”
