Yamaha ready to give Lorenzo more time for contract decision

Lorenzo, whose contract expires at the end of the year, has an offer from Yamaha on the table, but is yet to accept it amid speculation linking him with a move to Ducati.

Teammate Valentino Rossi has already announced a two-year contract extension.

Lorenzo's manager Albert Valera says the Spaniard has a deadline from Yamaha, but admits there is still plenty of time left to finalise the deal.

"Yamaha's offer has a deadline, like everything else at this level," said Valera.

"But we have a wide margin, beyond the race at Jerez or even Le Mans. Furthermore, [team boss Lin] Jarvis has made it clear that if Jorge needs more time to think about it, he'll have it."

Valera insisted that not having renewed yet was perfectly normal and should not be seen as a sign of anything.

"Now it appears that having renewed would have been the normal thing, and the abnormal thing is not to have done it before the start of the season, but that's far from the reality," he added.

"Neither Honda riders nor the Ducati riders have offers to renew or from other teams. The normal thing is to start talking after five or six races, not signing before the start of the season."

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont.