Although he was allowed to test twice last year, following the final race, Jorge Lorenzo was barred from talking about his switch from Ducati to Honda until January 1 of this year. Right on time, Honda has released a video containing an interview with Lorenzo – discussing his new bike and team.
You can see the video for yourself below, but highlights include the fact that Lorenzo feels the Honda suits him better than his prior bike, and gave him confidence quite quickly. Lorenzo notes that Honda reacted immediately when he requested changes to the bike and, for instance, at the second test at Jerez he already had a newly designed fuel tank (something Ducati apparently took quite some time to provide last year). Lorenzo is particular about the shape of the tank — allowing him to better grip and support himself while braking to enter corners.
Take a look at the video:
See more of MD’s great photography:
On the other hand, I still wonder WHO at Ducati wouldn’t get him the right gas tank for two years ?!?!??!?
You can forget about any other racing series being as intense and a gas to watch as this is going to be, and I can only imagine the steam-heat that will be fueled in the Repsol garages with these two bulls in the same stall.
On the other hand, I hope with HRC’s Honda money behind them that MGP does not turn into F1, where only a few teams with the biggest budgets turn it into ‘everybody else racing for 4th and worse’. At least they’re at the top of their game, unlike Honda’s floundering F1 exercise.
Surprised he was able to talk with MM’s nuts in his mouth.
Lorenso is much more likable this past year.
I like him more then (or than) Markes
Testing and racing are two different things. IMO – I think he’ll be running about 5th place for awhile. The season will be another Marquez show unless he gets hurt.
I think Lorenzo will run 3rd, 4th 5th for awhile before he gets everything figured out.
As far as Marquez goes, he’s the best on the race course right now with tons of talent,and desire, on one of the best bikes. Tough combination to beat.
I look for them to be first and second all season long. Oh, and trading places for the win..
Perhaps, but I think Dovi will have something to say about this. No question Honda has two premier riders aboard (and is paying salaries far greater than any other team), but that doesn’t always translate into race results. The Ducati may not fit Lorenzo, but it seems to fit Dovi just fine.
I believe Lorenzo is truthful about the Honda being better suited to him, add to that his momentum from the last half of 2018, hence he will be quickly posting great results.
I think in no time, as Superlight says, JLo and MM will push each other onto a new level that no others will match for some time.
When could MM ever count on previous teammate DaniP for anything in any race?
MM may have well been a single rider team for all the years DaniP rode with him on the same team.
I understand DaniP may have had some value as a Honda test rider role but as a teammate I’ve never been impressed with him, not once…and especially when he rode with NH69.
Pedrosa was a great team mate for Marquez. In the 6 years they were team mates, Pedrosa stood on the podium 50 times. That is a lot of points he kept out of Ducati and Yamaha riders hands. I’d venture to say Marquez would not have as many World Championships as he has if not for Dani Pedrosa.
“I’d venture to say Marquez would not have as many World Championships as he has if not for Dani Pedrosa.”
In large part, because Dani never posed a threat to Marc’s dominance even while riding the only bike that was always competitive with Marc’s bike.
In fact, I’ll go one step further. Any teammate Dani ever had in MotoGP benefited from having Dani as a teammate, because he never took a title from any of them.
Yep, I agree, had Jorge or Valentino been Marc’s teammate instead of Dani all those years, Marc probably doesn’t win as many championships, but it would have been for a different reason.
🙂
Seems a few of us have quite a different perspective re what makes a good teammate regarding racing/ Motorsport.
Test riders are not teammates.
Dani hasn’t posed a threat to anyone for years.
placing well on his one or two favourite tracks per year does very little to aid his teammate aside from being the politest/ meagerest way to keep a few points away from the team’s competitors. Quietly doing his work indeed.
MM did not require Dani’s assistance on the track so Dani continued to quietly do his work and collect his pay check from Honda.
Things changed. The competition has caught up and MM now would benefit from an able bodied teammate so out goes Dani and in comes JLo.
I’ve seen teammates work together on the track and its much more exciting to watch. When the two continually run together(keeping pace with one another ) as a team on the track as a pair they often push their pace resulting in 1 and 2 finishes or at least 2 in the top 5. This strategy will earn the teammates much more points than the few Dani ‘stole’ away from the completitors while doing his quiet work.
Also one of the teammates is always in position to act as a crucial buffer to the competitors when often needed.
This is why I am calling JLo and MM a good fit for for each other and why I NEVER liked Dani as a teammate. Dani as a rider/test pilot..fine.
This season is going to be a super exciting season of watching teammates in action.
Yep a great team mate for all the othe Honda Champions he teamed with. Never caused trouble in the box, was great with bike development, just quietly went about his business of scoring points and podiums every year keeping Yamaha and Ducati riders off the boxes. Sometimes a good defensive player is as valuable as a good offensive player.
So, you think Dani’s job description was spelled out thusly: “Be a useful teammate to Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez, etc. Help your teammate win championships.”
He was wasn’t hired to win championships himself?
Is that how he viewed his position on the Repsol Honda squad? He saw himself as a multi-million-dollar caddie, while occupying one of the two most most plum seats in the sport?
Strange. I highly doubt Rossi and Jorge ever viewed themselves as nothing more than wingmen whose sole mission was to help the guy on the other side of the garage win championships. Pretty sure that Dovi never signed up to be Nicky or Jorge’s caddie, or vice versa. Maverick probably doesn’t see himself that way, either.
You do realize that MotoGP racing isn’t really a team sport, right? This isn’t like Luc Longley or Bill Wennington gravytraining rings as a subordinate cast member of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Dani doesn’t get a championship ring when Marc wins the title.
Sure, he helps HRC to win the constructor’s title, and Repsol to win the team title, but those things mean nothing to the individual rider. Those accolades are only important to the people who pay the bills. Rider glory is based solely on the rider’s championship.
Can you think of any other rider in Grand Prix history whose Hall of Fame bust would be inscribed, “Zero titles, but a nice guy, and a helpful teammate!”
At some point you’re going to have to wake up and smell the coffee. Dani is a great guy, and a great rider on his best days, but the ONLY reason he has all those career stats in the premier class is because he, alone in the history of the sport, was given twelve years on the best bike and team in the paddock, despite never producing a single championship. Most years, he wasn’t even a serious threat.
His stats are so artificially inflated, it’s unreal.
Dani nearly cost Hayden’s motoGP championship.
(iirc) when Dani took out Hayden in the second last race he left Hayden in a must win situation and also (iirc) VR had to do no better than 3rd or something like that. It was miracle that Hayden took home the title.
I actually wasn’t too upset at Dani about that though because at that time he was often running with the lead group and racing is racing…and the Honda team ran together often. Dani was definitely in the hunt for a title back then but never since and not even close. A good test rider.
I fully expect MM and JLo to be slicing/dicing with each other (since they will often be alone together out front) as well and I don’t expect there will be a large gap in points between the two. the championship will not be won by any large margin like it had been so often by MM.
What a Team! Dovi will have his hands full next year. Poor Rossi, He’s probably walking around the Yamaha garage with a rear tire, asking if anyone knows how to make it stick.
If they get the tire to stick, stamina and reflex time will rear their ugly heads for the old chap. He crashed twice in the final laps of races at the end of 2018. He didn’t have any idea why the first time. He was an awesome talent, who still is for parts of races. Father Time gets around to visiting us all, though. Conditioning only goes so far.
On his best day, Lorenzo can beat Marquez. Interested to see if he can consistently stay at the top of his game
We shall see but I too think that 99 is not to be taken lightly by anyone !
“On his best day, Lorenzo can beat Marquez. Interested to see if he can consistently stay at the top of his game”
I’ll agree with that but I’ll add to it that MM beats JLo 7 days out of ten.
Also JLo’s career/enthusiasm/desire will fade long before MM.
I’d easily wager JLo has a couple more very good years which will make for an excellent team for Honda and a couple of very exciting seasons of racing ahead.
I haven’t been this excited about any “team” of riders (as opposed to having favorite individual riders of any particular team(s)) in MotoGP since I began watching MotoGP.