Lorenzo sets Mugello ‘evolution’ goal

Jorge Lorenzo is expecting no dramatic upturn in fortunes at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, but has set himself the goal of making incremental improvements with his riding style in the three days ahead.

The opening five races of 2019 have been a torrid time for the 32-year old as he has battled injury, a lack of upper body strength and a bike that requires him to ride in a drastically different manner than last season’s GP18.

But Lorenzo began his weekend in Italy by stating there has been a breakthrough in terms of understanding where he must focus: heavy braking and how he approaches corner entry will be receiving special attention in the three days ahead.

“I would like to feel better on the Honda, not particularly at Mugello, but all round the championship. This is my goal. If I arrive here and do a good result but don’t carry that on then it’s not worth it, or it’s worth it for one race.

“My goal is to fight constantly in the future for podiums and victories. Honestly still I need to finish the process of adaptation. It’s going to be tough and long, I imagine.

“It’s very tough at this moment to change this bike, especially in the entry of the corner I need to modify a lot my way of entering the corner, which is the opposite of what I was doing at Ducati.

“But at least now we understand what I have to modify and what I have to work on. From it I feel quite well, or much better on the bike in the ergonomics area. Now I have to work on my riding style in braking and in the entry of the corners.

“One of the things of my riding is to go fast in the corners and this is one of my goals this weekend. Hopefully the bike is going to work well here in Mugello and we can do a better weekend than the previous five races.”

How has he dealt with these latest difficulties? “It’s very tough when you have won so many world titles, so many victories in the past, when you are used to it, it’s very tough to be so far from the winner and more down from tenth place,” he said.

“It was tough at Ducati and now it’s probably even tougher. It’s a continuous fight with your mind to change your thoughts from negative to positive, to have faith, it’s complicated. But I’m doing it.

“We’re not doing the steps we would like but we are doing steps forward and now I understand more things that I need to change in my riding to get better. Hopefully here you will see some evolution of that.”