Ducati MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo says he was “one of the quickest riders” during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, and says this should be his “starting point” for this weekend's race at Le Mans.
Lorenzo qualified fourth in Spain and ran in second place for much of the race, until he was retired in a collision with teammate Andrea Dovizioso and Honda's Dani Pedrosa.
Despite this, Lorenzo – who currently sits 20th in the championship on just six points – believes he has “improved” his feeling on the Desmosedici, and says he was one of the fastest riders during the Jerez race.
“After what happened at Jerez I can’t wait to race at Le Mans,” the five-time French Grand Prix winner said.
“As I said after the race, despite the crash I think that the information we picked up during the Spanish GP was very positive.
“We worked well throughout the weekend and improved my feeling with the Desmosedici GP. In the race, even though I didn’t have the best pace, I showed I was one of the quickest riders out there and this should be our starting point in every grand prix.
“The aim at Le Mans will be the same as always: to be competitive right from day 1 and be able to fight up at the front in the race.
“I’m full of energy and anxious to race on Sunday at a circuit where I’ve won many times in the past.”
Dovizioso: Jerez pace put the frighteners on our rivals
Dovizioso, who slid to fifth in the standings and 24 points adrift of new leader Marc Marquez, admits his Jerez DNF was a “big setback”, but believes the pace Ducati showed at a track typically not suited to it has “put the frighteners” on its main rivals.
“If we look at how competitive we were at Jerez, I’m convinced we can also go well at Le Mans, and so from this point of view I’m pretty unfazed,” he said.
“In today’s MotoGP you can’t afford to lose too many points, and so the zero we picked up in Spain is a big setback.
“But after the performance we demonstrated in the race on a track that on paper was not favourable for us, I believe that we have put the frighteners on our rivals just a little bit more.
“So I’m confident we can also do a good race in France.”
