Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo says he was able to dip underneath the Sepang MotoGP lap record on the final day of testing as a "consequence of having a good bike", as he strives to make gains on his 2017 display.
The Mallorcan shot to the top of the timesheets during the early stages of Tuesday's running at Sepang, beating Honda's Marc Marquez's previous unofficial lap record as he posted a 1:58.830s, the best time of the three-day test.
Lorenzo heaped praise on the 2018 Desmosedici, finding it to suit his riding style, allowing him to exploit his advantage through the corners.
Admitting that the new bike still has some areas where it needs to improvements are required, compared to last year's bike, Lorenzo reckons Ducati “cannot be happier” with how the opening test has gone.
“The lap is a consequence of having a good bike, feeling well and being in shape,” he said.
“The most important thing is that the bike is working, it is giving me a good feeling and it's improved in a lot of areas compared to last year.
“As I said on the first day, the bike has improved and it's more suited to my riding style and I can take profit of my strong points.
“We are at the beginning of how to understand how to get the maximum; there is still some margin to improve, but as a start we cannot be happier than this – always on top, always good pace, and I'm very quick.”
When asked if his lap was perfect, Lorenzo quipped: "The perfect lap doesn't exist, so it's a continuous process of improvement every year and we will get faster and faster.
“It was not the perfect lap because we had something to test at the start of the day when the track was coldest.
“After an hour and a half, the track was quite hot, the grip was not perfect, the engine was not in the best condition to be fast but it was a good lap.”
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