Jorge Lorenzo admits his lowly 21st-place on the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix Friday practice times is down to a “lack of kilometres” on the Honda.
Lorenzo comes into the second round of the 2019 season still recovering from his pre-season wrist injury, as well as a rib fracture he picked up in his heavy FP3 crash in Qatar.
The triple MotoGP world champion ended Friday's action just nine tenths off the pace of former team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, but was second-from-last in 21st.
Conceding his position is “really bad”, Lorenzo says this is down to a combination of a slippery track surface and his “lack of experience” on the RC213V, rather than solely his injuries.
“I have some pain in my wrist in the morning session by forcing it, now I can force it a little bit more, so I create a little bit more effort in the wrist,” he said.
“In the afternoon I took some painkillers, [I felt] a little bit better. We need probably one or two or three weeks to recover completely both injuries.
“It's always difficult 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.
“The position is really bad, but the difference to the fastest man is not so high. I'll keep going, I'll never lose concentration or patience because it's a matter of time to be there.”
Lorenzo says he still doesn't “understand” the bike, and knows while he is below full fitness he needs to be “cautious” in the coming races.
“The position in second practice was unpleasant, but we need to put together many things to understand more the bike because at this moment we still don't understand,” he added.
“I expect we will go to Jerez and I will be very competitive. These two races [in Argentina and Texas] will be difficult for me but I'm going to try to get the best results, the best points and experience 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 am the official Honda rider, but forcing things won't make it better.”
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