Worst so far for Lorenzo.
Jorge Lorenzo may have been able to overcome the effects of a double ankle fracture during the last two rounds, but set-up problems prompted by the lack of dry track time at Mugello left MotoGP's star rookie a career worst seventh on the grid for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, having finished on the podium in four of his first five MotoGP races, few would rule the 21-year-old out of contention just yet.
Jorge Lorenzo may have been able to overcome the effects of a double ankle fracture during the last two rounds, but set-up problems prompted by the lack of dry track time at Mugello left MotoGP's star rookie a career worst seventh on the grid for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, having finished on the podium in four of his first five MotoGP races, few would rule the 21-year-old out of contention just yet.
"Of course I'm not happy with seventh because I always want to be at the front, it's my worst position so far with Yamaha in MotoGP and I'm especially disappointed because I really like this track and I love the Italian fans, but now we just have to look forward to a good race," he said.
"I still lack some power in my ankles but honestly I can't blame my injuries this time, today it was a case of lacking time to find the right dry set-up and of me not riding as well as I might have done," stated Jorge. "We need to work on the front especially because at the moment we are wheelying too much and we don't have enough stability in the bumpy areas, but I have confidence in my team and in Yamaha and I know we will be able to improve for tomorrow.
"Anyway, we know our bike is working well here because Valentino is on pole! Tomorrow morning we will decide on the race tyre, together with Michelin, and then I will try to get a good start and pass as many people as possible," he declared.
"Today was a bit more difficult than we've been used to and we have some small problems, specifically with wheelies making the bike a little bit difficult to control and also in the bumpy areas where we need to work on the suspension to make the bike more stable and less nervous," revealed team manager Daniele Romagnoli. "Now our engineers are studying the data and we will find a good solution for tomorrow. Jorge has shown in the last two races how well he can pass people so we're still looking forward to a great race tomorrow."
Lorenzo will start Sunday's race level on points with second-on-the-grid Dani Pedrosa and just three points behind title leader Rossi.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
