MotoGP: Lorenzo praises Rossi tyre management

Jorge Lorenzo has praised teammate – and bitter rival – Valentino Rossi’s management of his Michelin tyres following last weekend’s Catalan MotoGP race, admitting afterwards that the Italian out-performed him on the day.

Suffering from the same issues that he struggled with in similarly high temperatures in Jerez earlier this year, Lorenzo was already dropping through the field when Andrea Iannone torpedoed him out of the race.

But, speaking afterwards, Lorenzo made a rare admission as to just how good Rossi was on the day as he went on to win the race after a last lap duel with Marc Marquez.

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“It’s obvious that there’s a problem in special conditions, on tracks that create graining on the front tyre. It didn’t happen very often with the Bridgestones, but it’s happened in Jerez and at Montmelo. Rossi is on the same bike and something means he struggles less and can keep the pace all race. We have to analyse to see if we can improve something.

“Rossi on the same bike as me didn’t have as much graining, and it looks like he rides different from me and can save more of the front tyre. He’s very good in difficult conditions – he can ride unbelievably in them and in Barcelona he rode an unbelievable race. I couldn’t ride like him, and I couldn’t change my riding style to avoid the problems all weekend.

“My riding style is my riding style, but it’s never too late to change. We need to analyse that, the data, and maybe speak to Michelin and see if we can change the tyre a little to make it more constant for everyone, because there’s clearly something in these conditions that I don’t do right.”

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