Jorge Lorenzo is keen to put the woes of his Ducati debut behind him and make further progress in adjusting to the Desmosedici GP17 this weekend in Argentina.
The Spanish rider endured a largely difficult pre-season on the Ducati, and his problems continued into the first race. Lorenzo was left stranded in 12th on the grid after qualifying was cancelled, and struggled all the way to the flag to only just hold onto 11th place.
He admitted afterwards that he didn’t have the bike ‘to fight for something big,’ but is looking forward to returning to action this weekend to further get to grips with his motorcycle.
“In Qatar, the world championship didn’t begin the way we wanted but now we have to turn over a page and carry on, by focusing on the next race,” said Lorenzo.
“I can’t wait for the Argentina GP weekend to begin so I can accumulate more mileage and experience on the Ducati.”
Lorenzo’s results at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit have been mixed. The Spaniard made it to the podium in third in 2014, but remained largely anonymous during the 2015 event in which he finished fifth. He crashed out of last year’s race having struggled in the early laps with the tyres.
The Spaniard himself admits Argentina hasn’t exactly been kind to him, but he is a fan of the 2.9-mile circuit and is buoyed by the fact that Ducati were on course for a double rostrum last year before Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone collided.
“Even though Termas is a circuit where I have suffered a bit in the last few years, it’s a special track; last year the Ducatis went really well and I think I will be able to make another step forward,” added Lorenzo.
“We have to remain focused and start to work with a setting that allows us to be quick as soon as possible, because here in Argentina everything is new for me with the Ducati.”
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