Jorge Lorenzo says his woes on the opening day of MotoGP’s Argentinian Grand Prix were more a result of his inexperience on Honda’s bike than his injuries.
Lorenzo, who fractured his wrist while training in January then cracked a rib at the Qatar season opener, said he would be extra careful at this weekend’s Argentina round not to crash again.
He was 14th in Friday’s opening session, but ended the more representative FP2 21st, ahead only of Tech3 KTM rider Hafizh Syahrin.
But Lorenzo said he felt OK physically during practice, and this his struggles continued to stem from his familiarity with the bike as well as the low-grip conditions at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
“Physically I am quite well,” said Lorenzo. “This morning I had some little pain, especially in the wrist, [but] now I can force it a little bit more so I create a little bit more effort in the wrist.
“This afternoon I took some painkillers. We need probably one, two or three weeks to completely recover from both injuries, or almost completely.
“But it’s not [the] real problem so far, [behind] that position. It’s more my inexperience with the bike together with a track that [I] never like.
“It’s difficult for me because the grip is really bad, really slippery.
“I’m a rider who needs grip to take profit of the maximum potential of my riding so I always struggle here.”
Lorenzo said he felt more comfortable with his positioning on the Honda than he did in Qatar, and thinks he will be at the sharp end by the time MotoGP’s European leg of the season starts in May at Jerez.
“If before I had five to seven things I didn’t like about position of the bike, now we have improved most of it,” added Lorenzo.
“There is only a couple of things that can be improved in the future so I am better.
“We need to put together many things but already, even though I don’t have experience, in good conditions like in first practice in Qatar with good grip and everything, I can be in the front.
“I expect that when we go to Jerez I will be very competitive.
“These two races [before then] will be difficult for me but I’m going to try to get the best result – to get points and to get experience with the bike without crashing.”