Jorge Lorenzo was full of praise for Ducati’s GP18 after two days of testing at Sepang in Malaysia. Many are looking to the Spaniard for an improvement in 2018 after a poor season last time out and the five-times world champion has started positively this week, finishing inside the top four on both days.
Despite finishing just a tenth shy of pacesetter Maverick Vinales, Lorenzo was delighted with his competitiveness and claims there is still plenty more to come.
“Today we were competitive again and I’m very happy about that. We sorted out a few details, tested some new components and settings and in the end improved both our lap time and our pace. I also believe we still have room for more improvement and, when we get a better idea of some things, I think we’ll be able to express all the potential of the new Desmosedici GP, which is very high.”
Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was similarly happy after finishing eighth quickest although he was quick to point out that Sepang was among Ducati’s stronger tracks last year.
“I’m satisfied with the work we did today and the sensations I had with the new bike, even though in the afternoon unfortunately we were unable to complete all the tests that had been scheduled. Also last year we proved that we were very competitive here at Sepang, so now we have to getter a better understanding of how much room for improvement we have with the 2018 bike, and it’ll be vitally important to verify the positive aspects on the next tracks we go to and in different conditions.”
