Jorge Lorenzo says his “future will not change” after his dominant maiden Ducati MotoGP win at the Italian Grand Prix, amid speculation that he will be leaving the Italian marque at the end of this season.
Lorenzo beat Ducati team-mate Andrea Dovizioso by over six seconds to secure his first win for the Italian marque and his first in the premier class since his farewell race with Yamaha at Valencia in 2016.
Adamant before the weekend that the result of the Mugello weekend would not impact his future, with it likely he will return to Yamaha next year with a satellite team, Lorenzo reiterated “nothing” will change.
“Nothing, the future will not change after this victory,” Lorenzo told BT Sport following the race.
“For one side I'm very, very happy. It's probably one of the best races of my life after [winning] the world championship.
“For the victories, it's the best victory of my life. But for another side, I'm sad because if I had these pieces [on the bike] before that I needed I could have more podiums than before and probably could win before this race..”
He added in the press conference: “I believe if I had this modification months before, I could tell you that I will continue in Ducati, but I cannot tell you that.”
Lorenzo pinned his Mugello win on a modified fuel tank design Ducati brought to Mugello, which allowed him to ride with less physical exertion and maintain his pace through to the end of the race.
“The ergonomic of last year's back was slightly different,” he said when asked about the new fuel tank.
“The fuel tank was slightly higher, and has a different shape. To make the new chassis they probably had to change the ergonomic and the shape of the tank.
“So for other riders they don't feel a difference, but I said from the beginning I have less support and I get more tired under braking.
“I said this from Buriram test. But probably they believe we couldn't use a different one.
“In Montmelo test we tried a slightly [modified] one, because we didn't have time to prepare a much different one, and finally here arrived something much bigger and I could feel the difference
“I said from Friday it was something important, and this allowed me to relax more the arms and save more the energy, especially in straight braking.”
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