Jorge Lorenzo took his second podium for Ducati last week at Aragón. More importantly, he led the first 15 laps of the race, and ultimately finished just two seconds after race winner Marc Marquez (Honda). Aragón is not known as a good track for Ducati.
The Motegi round in Japan is coming up in less than three weeks, and Lorenzo likes his chances there. Lorenzo won at Motegi in 2013 and again in 2014, while also standing on the podium in 2015. He says it is one of his favorite tracks, and the Ducati goes well there.
Shortly after his podium at Aragón, Lorenzo said he is ready to win on the Ducati … possibly at Motegi. You can read his quotes on Crash.net and GPOne.com.
What do you think? It has been a long, hard slog for Lorenzo this year, but we have seen his old speed emerge more than once. The old Lorenzo could take the lead at the start of the race, run away and hide (on his Yamaha) on a good day. Are we ready to see him do the same on a Ducati?
See more of MD’s great photography:
JL has a shot at winning Motegi if the stars align properly and he finds a little something extra but MM will have to have problems he can’t override. JL seems to spend a good percentage of his efforts playing a mental cheerleading game with himself (his competitors care less) and a lesser amount of time implementing adaptive riding techniques when the self promotion doesn’t work. Unfortunately he could use some schooling in the basic “sales” mantra ” Under Promise and Over Deliver”. He seems to always get it backward. Most of the legendary riders of the modern era have learned this and only appear cocky when they’ve mentally beaten their challengers and still have 20% in reserve. Even MM fakes public humility as his edge is not yet at Mick Doohan domination levels. At current level and JL’s pay grade he’s expected to adapt and over ride for results ALL the time. Apparently he didn’t get the email.
…if everyone else crashes out.
Lorenzo most certainly has a shot and rode great the last race. But there is a problem. And that is Marc Marquez. Should be an exciting last four races.
Where can you bet on MotoGP? Just bet on MM to win every race till oh, about 2027 or so. The net result is guaranteed money.
Further, if you have to bet whether MM shall eventually own the record for number of Championships, you’d be a fool to bet against that too.
He’s pretty much in his own little world in paved track motorcycle races. Gotta get used to it or stop watching. I lean toward the latter.
On a related note, no matter how much KTM improves over the next decade, their Austrian CEO picked the wrong era to scream to BMW in Bavaria, “Mine’s as big as yours,” i.e. burn $200M in the MotoGP fireplace. KTM can “improve” leaps and bounds from now till the cows come home. Their chance of dethroning MM and Big Red remain barely above zero.
re: “The net result is guaranteed money.”
Ezpelata sees the scam (and OBEYS).
KTM should have gone to SBK.
We’ll see about that
When Marquez lost the front end toward the end of the Motegi race, and recovered, he showed that he is beyond mortal.
I think Marquez can run laps 1 second faster than anybody else, when he has to.
Lorenzo hasn’t really put two competitive rounds together this year. He’s certainly capable of it, but if I’m Ducati I’d be pulling out the stops for Desmo Dovi, who still has a good shot at the championship if Vinales and more importantly Marquez take a spill or have a mechanical.
re: “I’d be pulling out the stops for Desmo Dovi”
yes, this round he will be known as “Dark Horse” Dovi. he’s actually the one to watch even more than the “Murg”. Capi has won Motegi on a Duc.
I think in years past Lorenzo knew that if he could get out in front, his metronome-like perfection would yield a win. Those days are gone. He’s a smart guy and a winner and will make the adjustments needed to battle all the way to the finish line. No matter, we’re really lucky to have the opportunity to see so much talent out there. Has there ever been a season with so many races decided by less than 2 seconds?
Lorenzo has only been able to run quick on the soft soft tire combo, I believe, which won’t last the race. He can lead the race for a number of laps while others are getting some heat into their tires, but until he can make the bike work on the mediums or hards, he won’t be a threat at the end of the race. There is no doubt Lorenzo is an alien, but until the strars aligh, the alien has little chance of standing on the top step when his cometition is running tires that will have grip in the last10 laps.
it’s gonna be October and November. even in the southern hemisphere, those months are cooler than july…
Marquez pulls things out of his hat even when there is no hat. A hard charging humble young man that is a pleasure to watch. Gotta give Rossi absolute credit for racing with his leg injury. I’d still be whining and asking my wife to bring me my blankie 3 months after a double bone broken leg. Oi.
Lorenzo’s recent improvement has been impressive but he certainly has been dragging his feet to earn his paycheck. Petrucci has impressed me more than Lorenzo has, and hasn’t had the factory pampering. I’m glad to see a touch of humility in Lorenzo interviews and could learn to like the guy if he continues to act like a human. I’d personally like to see Dovisioso on top of the podium twice in a row a couple of more times this year. Geeze, I’ve got my opinions about all of them and could get on a real rant, but my biggest complaint is there’s only four more races left in the season.
re: “The Motegi round in Japan is coming up in less than three weeks, and Lorenzo likes his chances there.”
ok but Norm does NOT like his chances there, “Tegi’s” not on the Peninsula, just saying.
re: “Lorenzo won at Motegi in 2013 and again in 2014, while also standing on the podium in 2015.”
sure, on a hella-sorted M1.
re: “What do you think?”
trust me you really don’t want to know what i think.
re: “Are we ready to see him do the same on a Ducati?”
that’s not the question, the question is with the 2017 title still very much in the balance does HRC/Honda want to see him do the same…? what you and i want is ultimately of little consequence. remember parishioners the reason “we the manufacturers gather here today” in the Church of MotoGP (for sinfully expensive racing) is the TITLE.
[BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE…!!!]
Q: is Big Red ready to see him do the same on not just the home track for all Japanese manufacturers (where Stoner already secured the ’07 Championship once for Ducati) but the test track for HRC where the legendary RC211 V5 was born…?
A: not so much.
Lorenzo’s adaptation on the Duc is the highlight of this season for me. Watching a 5X World Champion figuring things out of his new bike after years of masterfully rode the M1, how he got beaten up by his own teammate for almost every race (also some satellite riders), and yet never give up and always trying to find new things to improve at the next races, how his paces got closer and closer toward the race winner at every race, he even adjusted his riding style (e.g. rear brake), all of these somehow have been inspiring to me, personally. Also some people have said that he got more humble now so that’s a plus (I’ve never has a problem with his attitude tho).
I can’t say for sure whether he’d win on Motegi or not but for sure he’s constantly improving so I believe sooner or later he’d win his first race. If I had to bet on his first win, that’d be on Valencia.
It would be great to see Ducati win the race lots of hard work from that camp. Greater story might be Rossi, healing and racing from a guy with nothing to prove to anyone but himself.
The one constant this year in MotoGP is upheaval. Marquez is certainly the rational favorite, but I have this feeling that fate is going to level the playing field again.
Lorenzo looked good last week, many like me, didn’t think he had a chance of getting along with the Ducati this year, but how have things changed. I cant say if he is changing to adapt to the Ducati, or Ducati has changed the bike for him. Rossi could not wait, he went back to Yamaha. I still want 93 to win the championship.
Lorenzo has been very candid about the changes required by himself and the bike to get to where he needs. It’s easily the most interesting interviews that you’ll see/read this season.
He’d have looked silly saying that the bike is no good when it has won races and led the championship for a while. But JL is a much cooler customer these days. It lets us see what being a competitor of Rossi does to a person. I dislike the Rossi approach of character assasination of opponents, which is why we’ve seen the emergence of people who have to circle the wagons to beat him. JL is fairly impervious to crowd hostility and whilst MM would like to be Mr. Popular, given the choice he’s gone with being champion instead.
Vinales biggest problem this year has been Rossi, who has messed with him on several occasions (e.g. qualifying), but he seems to have learnt that you can’t compete with the Rossi PR machine, so better keep the head down and beat him on the track consistently instead.
My prediction after “Mr. I want everything perfect” went to “the bike no one tames” was he was not going to win… not even remotely.
There is a small but important but… if he get’s to win on that machine he may learn to adapt… that’s something that will add a lot to a experienced rider so he may come to be a more “complete” rider.
Or maybe Dovizioso just win next year making look bad how much JL earns.
Marquez and his Honda are looking good, and going home. I wouldn’t be against the 93.
“Bet”
He has been looking more and more menacing these past several races. He has a shot for sure. But then there is Marquez…