Lorenzo: “We have some margin to be closer”

Reigning world champion finds progress in modifications

Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ended the first day on track at the Red Bull Ring in P8, but the 5-time world champion was one of the few riders – title rival Marc Marquez included, however – who didn’t fit a fresh soft tyre at the end of the day. Focusing on his own setup, the title defender found some progress on Day 1 and looks ahead to Saturday hoping for higher track temperatures.

Jorge Lorenzo: “There‘s a difference between us and our rivals, but you know you have to work on your own bike and your own pace to try to improve it and that‘s what we did. We tried to modify the bike and improve by some tenths and we got a good pace. We didn‘t put the softer tyre on the rear like some other riders, so we have some margin to be even closer. Especially in the morning it was very cold and it‘s only been on a few occasions that it was colder than today. It was tricky because we had to be careful in some corners to avoid crashing. In the afternoon it was a little bit better, with the temperature a few degrees higher, so we had a better feeling but we hope tomorrow the sun will shine a bit more and we‘ll have more confidence.”