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Lorenzo expected "much worse" Sachsenring result than 11th

Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo says he expected "a much worse" result in the German Grand Prix, despite only finishing 11th at the Sachsenring.

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team, Andrea Iannone, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team, Andrea Iannone, Team Suzuki MotoGP

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Johann Zarco, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Lorenzo had a strong start to the race from sixth on the grid, running as high as third behind Honda duo Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in the early laps.

But the Spaniard couldn't maintain his early pace and steadily slipped down the order, eventually trailing home in 11th place and 25 seconds behind race winner Marquez at the chequered flag.

Despite the result, his equal-worst in dry conditions this year, Lorenzo said he was satisfied as he had been expecting an even worse outcome after finishing 22nd in a "disaster" of a morning warm-up session.

"I was expecting a much worse race," Lorenzo admitted. "In the warm-up, my rhythm was one of the worst I ever had.

"I had a good start, I had a good feeling while I had grip, although I was not as strong as the Hondas, I was more or less following them.

"Marquez and Pedrosa were beating me by half a second, and I could only make up time in braking. I more or less could stay [with] them until the rear tyre started to drop.

"Then I had problems to turn the bike, it was going outside the line and I couldn't do so much more. I pushed until the end and I had the best pace [I had] all the weekend, so it's not bad."

Result saved "complicated situation"

Lorenzo has never won at the Sachsenring in his MotoGP career, and has only one win to his credit at Assen, where he struggled to a 15th place finish in mixed conditions last month.

Yet, the Ducati rider reckons he saved a "complicated situation" by scoring points in both races, and remains confident of challenging higher up the order at tracks where he has a better record.

"In general, we saved a very complicated situation here and a little bit at Assen as well," he said.

"Even when I was strong with the Yamaha, I always suffered in these two circuits, and with the Ducati I struggled even more, considering I couldn't take podiums on circuits I favour.

"I think that when the good tracks come for me we will be much better and in the meantime we are waiting for improvements of the chassis, and we will see if [we have an update] on aerodynamics.

"When you are not at the front your value goes down; when you are, you are a phenomenon. I know it's only a matter of time before the bike starts giving good feelings and I can fight for victories."

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont

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