Jorge Lorenzo places 11th in complicated debut race for Ducati

Jorge Lorenzo’s debut race for Ducati proved to be a tough one. The rider from Mallorca started well from row 4, but on the opening lap he went wide at Turn 5 and dropped to sixteenth.

Jorge then began a recovery through the field, lapping at the same times as the leading group which took him into ninth position by the mid-point. Six laps from the end however Lorenzo had to slow his pace and he finished the race in eleventh place.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 11th
“It was a very complicated race from all aspects. I started off well, but on the opening lap I went wide and lost a lot of positions, and this conditioned me in my efforts to get back up. Then I felt better on the bike and I started to lap at the same pace as the leaders, but unfortunately in the final part of the race I started to lose confidence in the tyres and my bike became a lot more physical to ride, so I had to slow the pace and I was unable to finish in the top 10. I want to be positive about things however, even though my first race with Ducati didn’t go the way we expected. It’s true that we are just at the start, and we know we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Source: Ducati