Following his two consecutive 2018 MotoGP victories, Ducati’s Jorge Lorenzo believes the fuel tank was the last piece in the puzzle for him to finally deliver his worth.
Ever since he moved into Ducati in 2017, the former world champion has been looking to win not just a race but a title with the Italian manufacturer and register his name in history to with with multiple constructors’.
The feat so far has been difficult even for the likes of Valentino Rossi. However, Lorenzo at least went one step further to win on a different bike overcoming all the difficulties in the one and a half year’s time.
Ducati were bringing small updates for Lorenzo all-through to give him the machine to dominate. For a lot of races, Lorenzo was starting well but as the races progressed, he was either tumbling down the order or had a crash.
However, before the grand prix in Mugello, Ducati brought a significant upgrade with a redesign of the fuel tank which the Spaniard believes was the ‘last step’ to be taken for him to find himself on the top step of the podium.
The higher positioning of the fuel tank was disrupting Lorenzo’s race as he would start feeling tired in the races as it progressed which eventually led to diminish his performance – however with the new design he was able to save energy for the last phase in the races.
“I think the fuel tank was the last step that I needed to be back and be more competitive, but more than anything [it allowed me to remain] consistent and save energy that [eventually] gave me the comfort ability [all-through] to complete the race.
“Before, I was competitive in five laps or seven laps or even 15 laps, but then in the last part of the race I was so tired that I had to drop [back]. It was not only that it was the fuel tank, but small steps we were making [in] the last months that gave us this speed.
“When we got the speed, we just needed the last step on consistency [and here are the results in front of you],” he explained. The results have put Lorenzo right in the mix for an outside chance to fight for the title now.
He is on 66 points, same as teammate Andrea Dovizioso and Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone – but still he is 49 behind leader Honda’s Marc Marquez who has the three Yamaha riders on his tail with a better chance.
Marquez’s future Honda teammate Lorenzo believes the pressure will be on his fellow countryman more than him as he has ‘nothing to lose’ in the title fight. But Marquez feels that the pressure allows him to concentrate even more.
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