Lorenzo: Wet pace tells me I can still win title
Jorge Lorenzo says the pace he demonstrated in wet conditions at Motegi reassures him he can still win the MotoGP title, despite losing ground to Valentino Rossi.
Photo by: Yamaha MotoGP
Long-time race leader Lorenzo conceded four points to Yamaha teammate Rossi in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, fading to third behind the Italian and a victorious Dani Pedrosa as he struggled with tyre wear on a drying track.
It means Lorenzo now has 18 points to make up to Rossi in just three races, but the Spaniard says his early pace at Motegi – following two difficult rain-affected rounds at Silverstone and Misano – nonetheless has given him a confidence boost ahead of the title run-in.
“I am at my best moment ever in dry conditions, now also in the wet,” said Lorenzo.
“That means I am able to fight for wins in the next three Grands Prix, and this gives me the belief I can still win the championship.”
"I didn't have luck on my side"
While Lorenzo admitted that, with the benefit of hindsight, he pushed too hard to build a gap in the opening laps, he was philosophical about the latest setback in his quest for a third MotoGP crown.
“Obviously if I knew the track was going to dry, I wouldn’t have pushed so much at the beginning,” he said.
“But everyone believed the track would have stayed wet all the way through, and I did what I thought I needed to do.
“In general I have been the fastest [rider] this year, but like in some other races this year I didn’t have the luck of circumstances, which is why I have been losing points.
“But in a difficult situation, it was important to just lose four points [to Rossi].”
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