Lorenzo: I completely lost vision
Jorge Lorenzo dropped twelve points to team-mate and title rival Valentino Rossi as further helmet troubles taunted the Spaniard at a wet British MotoGP.
Lorenzo missed out on a shot at victory in Qatar when the foam lining came loose and covered his eyes. This time the #99 - who began the race level on points with Rossi after gains at the last two rounds - saw a podium chance slip away due to a foggy visor on his HJC helmet.
"First of all I think I think today I didn't have the pace to fight for the win. So Valentino deserved the victory and also Petrucci the second place. The problem was when it started raining more and the temperature went down and I caught Andrea I couldn't see. I completely lost my vision, because the visor was foggy," Lorenzo said.
"The third place was possible. I don't think I could have caught Petrucci, but the third place was probably mine. So today the foggy visor lost me three points and it's the second time this year that I've lost points because of the helmet. I cannot tell you what is going to happen in the future but for sure we have problems with it."
Lorenzo and Marquez dominated practice and qualifying at Silverstone. But while Marquez stuck with Rossi in the wet - until an accident - Lorenzo slipped to fifth in the middle stages.
"Rain is always difficult. Sometimes you feel very good like for example in Aragon when I won last year and sometimes it's difficult, especially when the track is very slippery. Sometimes I don't feel the best," Lorenzo admitted. "But I had a good pace at the beginning. Maybe half a second slower than Marquez and Valentino when they overtook me. But obviously they were faster than me at the beginning.
"Valentino was faster on entry to the corner. He could brake later and I wasn't able to ride like him. As I said, I couldn't fight with Valentino and maybe also Marc, we don't know what would happen with his pace if he had stayed on the bike.
"But we have to take the positives. The result for sure in a dry condition I was expecting to fight for the victory, finish first or second, but this is racing. It can happen. This time it was better for Valentino who took perfectly the occasion and won the race.
"It could be much worse because when I was third Pol Espargaro entered the chicane very fast on the inside. Difficult to understand his move. Especially because we are team-mates of the same factory. I don't know how I saved a crash, it was almost a miracle because I was thinking I'd crash, a highside and could break a collarbone or some injury.
"Luckily I stayed on the bike and this was my luck. After I was very calm and patient not to crash when I didn't have vision in the last four or five laps. So for this reason I think it could be much worse and we saved a little bit the situation, even if we lost points.
"But we recovered 29 points before. I think normally our speed is very good, probably better than Vale generally, so still six races to go and we are going to try to recover the points like we did two times this year."
With Marquez dropping even further behind after his Silverstone error, the 2015 title looks to be a direct Rossi and Lorenzo contest over the remaining six rounds.
"I think Marquez's race was much worse than mine because he is almost out of the championship, so there is only one rival, one rider, that I must keep in focus and that is Valentino," he said.
"I believe in dry conditions, normally as I told you before I would have more speed and I will work to keep like that in the next races and I guess I'll have more possibilities to finish in front of him in the next races and recover points.
"Misano is his home grand prix and he will be competitive but you never know what can happen until you get there on Friday."
