Jorge Lorenzo says he and Ducati are still looking to improve their consistency over a race distance as they look to take the fight to Honda and Yamaha in the British Grand Prix. The Spaniard qualified fifth behind Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Vinales and he feels those four riders are stronger than his Ducati at the moment.
Lorenzo still holds onto hope that he can fight at the front in tomorrow’s race but like his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge believes he is playing catch-up.
“It looks like Marquez has something more but Vinales, Rossi and Crutchlow are very strong. For me, it’s between those four. Dovi’s always very consistent in the race, especially this year, he manages the bike and the tyres very well. We hope as Ducati members that he stays there and I hope I stay there also. We need to work on the consistency for tomorrow. For Dovi and me, it won’t be easy but we’ll try our best for sure. In Misano, I think we’ll struggle a lot less but we never give up and tomorrow I’ll try to finish as close as possible to the winner.”
Lorenzo’s effort to adjust to life on a Ducati has been an ongoing story throughout the season and while he doesn’t believe he has solved his problems yet, the five-times champion is encouraged by the rate of progress.
“During the first part of the season, I was facing two problems, the lack of front contact but also the experience I have with this bike and the way I have to ride to get the maximum. Still I’m not getting the maximum, I believe I can do better but being honest, little by little, the bike will improve for the future and we’ve been making improvements the last few months.”
