Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo says that he is not surprised by his pace in the wet at Sepang after qualifying in third position for tomorrow’s 20-lap Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Spanish rider has seen some of his worst races this year in the wet conditions, but none of those issues have affected him this weekend. The Sepang International Circuit has been resurfaced this year, the track yielding excellent grip in the wet, and this will almost certainly have helped the Spaniard’s cause, likewise the typically sweltering temperatures.
Having made a steady start to the weekend on Friday in 10th, Lorenzo was on the ball in FP3 this morning. He sailed through to QP2 with ease by posting the third fastest time of the session. In qualifying, Lorenzo says that he pushed too hard on his wet tyres and overheated them for his final flying lap.
Had it not been for this, he feels he could have found ‘three or four tenths’ which could have put him in contention for pole position. The Spaniard’s best lap of 2m11.787s was initially good enough for second, but he was shuffled back a spot by his teammate Valentino Rossi right at the death.
Nonetheless, he is happy with the front row and it could prove a vital one. With just 11 points between himself and Suzuki’s Maverick Vinales in their battle for third in the championship, Lorenzo needs a strong result over his compatriot to extend his advantage. With Vinales down in 8th, Lorenzo will need to capitalise on this front row start tomorrow afternoon.
“In Sepang, in the rain, I‘ve always been fast, so it doesn‘t surprise me that this weekend I would be competitive in the rain, because the grip of the track is very good.,” he said.
“Maybe I pushed a bit too much in the beginning. On some laps I could have slowed down to cool down the tyres to attack on the last lap, but I didn‘t do this, I just kept running and at the end the tyre was too hot to improve the last three or four tenths. Anyway it‘s a good position, third place in the rain, and I‘m quite happy.”
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