Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo was closer than ever to the win last time out at a rain-soaked Sepang, crossing the line seven tenths behind winner and teammate Andrea Dovizioso.
It was another podium in red as the ‘Spartan’ settles in and adapts to a bike very different to that which he had ridden since 2008, and although he is not yet fighting for the title, his teammate is – something he says is a special opportunity.
“A world title for Ducati is something very special,” says the Majorcan, “And I want this to happen. Obviously, if I can, on my side. But if I can’t, it’s good that Dovi does it.”
And Lorenzo says that yes, rivalry in the box is always important – but that his focus is on the best for Ducati: “He is my teammate, he is the first one that you have to beat or you want to beat because he has the same bike as you, but also we are in a team. Okay, it’s an individual sport but finally you want the best for Ducati.”
“I think it was the right decision to make, even if the results at the moment are not the same,” explains the five-time World Champion.
“My mind-set was that I needed to enter this new challenge and take on this new challenge with a lot of patience and understanding that it was question of time, that it was a question of process, of changing a lot of things. And little by little I keep improving. And I think I’m still far from my limit.”
“I think it was the right decision to make, even if the results at the moment are not the same,” explains the five-time World Champion.
“My mind-set was that I needed to enter this new challenge and take on this new challenge with a lot of patience and understanding that it was question of time, that it was a question of process, of changing a lot of things. And little by little I keep improving. And I think I’m still far from my limit.”
In terms of the limit, that is also a question of the bike – something Lorenzo says will adapt to him more in the future, too. “The bike also doesn’t change completely during the season. This also slowed down a little bit my performance. Because I still need to adapt to the bike more than the bike is adapting to my riding so this is not easy for me."
"But I think that maybe the engineers are working on giving me some solutions that really make my life easier next year.”
Leading almost fifty laps this year and taking a number of podiums, Lorenzo has been cutting the gap to the winner considerably of late – and says his belief in his ability and work ethic is unwavering.
“Even if now I’m not aspiring to fight for the World Championship for the moment, because I’m not competitive enough, I will always believe that I can win someday and I can get it,” affirms the ‘Spartan’
“I don’t know the future, nobody knows the future. The thing I know is that I will be working very hard, I will never give up in my will to win. And I will probably be much better than this year.”
But just before the future begins, the final race of 2017 remains – at Valencia, where Lorenzo first tested the ‘Desmosedici’. And where Lorenzo has taken the win, pole position and set a new lap record for the past two years.
source: motogp.com
