Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) may have closed out Friday at the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina in P21, but being less than a second away from P1 while suffering from a lack of grip and two injuries may pay homage to the potential the multiple World Champion has on his RC213V.
“Physically I am quite well,” started Lorenzo when reflecting on his Friday in Argentina, as he continues to recover from fractured ribs sustained in Qatar and a scaphoid injury picked up in late January. “This morning I have some pain in the wrist by forcing now I can force a little bit more, so I create a little bit more effort in the wrist. This afternoon I take some more painkillers, a little bit better. We need probably one or two or three weeks to recover completely both injuries.”
But Lorenzo reveals his injuries aren’t the sole problem to him being down the timesheets. Injuries, coupled with a lack of time on his new bike and a tricky Termas track is what Lorenzo believes is the issue.
“It’s always difficult for more because the grip of the tarmac is really bad, it’s really slippery. I’m a rider who needs grip to take profit of the maximum potential of my riding. And together with my lack of kilometres, my lack of experience with the bike and my injuries it makes my life not so easy at the moment.”
But to be less than a second away from the fastest riders, when there are multiple factors holding him back, shows significant signs that Lorenzo will be competitive on board his Honda. And he believes it will only be a matter of time before he’s up the sharp end once again.
“Half a second closer to the fastest than this morning. The position is really bad but the difference with the fastest man is not so high. I’ll keep going. I’ll never lose the concentration or patience because it’s a matter of time to be there.
“Today the position in the second practice is unpleasant. But we need to put together many things to understand more the bike because at this moment we still don’t understand. I expect we will go Jerez and I will be very competitive. These two races will be difficult for me but I’m going to try to get the best results, the best points and experience with the bike without crashing. We need to be very patient and very cautious at the moment. With more experience, our moment will arrive… It’s difficult because a lot of people and the team expect a lot from me because I’m the official rider of Honda but forcing things won’t make it better.”
Can Lorenzo climb his way up the pecking order on Saturday?