Argentinian GP proves a weekend to forget for Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo got off the line well in the Argentinian GP at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, but his “flag-to-flag” sprint ended after five laps.
The third day at the Termas de Río Hondo Circuit was filled with drama before the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina race even got underway. The scheduled ’extra‘ 30-minute morning warm-up session was cancelled when rain tormented the South American circuit. The change in conditions compared to the first two days meant the tyre allocation was amended to best suit the race situation.
While the ’standard‘ warm-up took place under wet conditions in the morning, the shortened race got underway on a mostly dry track with treacherous wet patches. A compulsory stop to change machines at the end of lap 9, 10 or 11, allowed the riders to use either the medium or the hard rear slick tyres that they had used on the Friday and the Saturday, as long as they were used with the minimum tyre pressure advised by Michelin for this race.
Lorenzo had a lightning fast start from third position as the lights went out and grabbed the holeshot, but fell back to seventh place as he took time to get heat into his tyres. With sixteen laps to go he decided it was time to put the hammer down, but his attempt to claw his way back to the front of the field ended with a crash in turn one a lap later when he was caught out by the tricky conditions and was unable to continue the race.
Despite not taking home any points, Lorenzo still holds fourth position after two rounds with 25 points.
JORGE LORENZO
It was a weekend to forget. We had problems during the practice sessions and finally we got a first row in qualifying and a good start, but with these conditions and wet patches in some corners I wasn‘t comfortable. I think it was my fault. As a rider I didn‘t feel comfortable enough to stay in the first group and I saw them risking so much. I made a mistake in the first corner, which was more complicated, it was the corner with more wet patches and I went in a little bit too wide on this particular lap and just lost the front and couldn‘t continue. This is racing; sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. You have to accept it and think positive, just forget this race and think about the future.
Source: Yamaha Racing