Jorge Lorenzo interview session with Honda | Photo credits: Motorsport.com
It didn’t take too long before the Repsol Honda team published Jorge Lorenzo first interview as a factory Repsol Honda rider. The Spanish rider already had the chance to test his new bike for 2019, during the IRTA official tests in Valencia and Jerez, at the end of 2018, but he wasn’t able to give his opinion about the Honda prototype because he was still under contract with Ducati.
Now, in the first days of his new life and free from the contract he had with Ducati, Jorge Lorenzo spoke for the first time as a Repsol Honda rider, and he couldn’t be happier than he is right now, especially since the factory Honda team seems to understand they need to react quickly to his requests
“One of the things I’ve been most impressed with, is how fast the team reacts to give what I’ve asked for. Honda took notice of what I’ve said, and in a few days’ time I had a fuel tank almost 100% as I need”, says Lorenzo.
Using his official Twitter account, Jorge Lorenzo published a photo of him riding the Honda RC213V prototype during the tests at the end last year, and the Spanish champion already embodied the Honda family catch phrase “The Power of Dreams”.
Feeling happy to be joining a team that is the most successful in MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo already had a first taste of what the Honda bike is capable of, and this is what he had to say about it
“I came from a very different bike (Ducati), very big, and very tall, while the Honda in terms of dimensions fits me better, it’s more compact, smaller and lower, I reach the ground better and that made me feel safer when entering the corners, since I’m closer to the ground. That has given me more confidence. The first impression was good, and the bike has a lot of potential”.
Having spent so many years trying to beat Marc Marquez on other manufacturers, now, Jorge Lorenzo will find the five-times MotoGP champion on the other side of his garage wearing the same Repsol Honda team colors. Will that be a problem for him or the team?
“Every rider has its own strong and weak points, and Marc Marquez also has them. I’ll try to learn his strong points as I believe he will also try to understand mine. I believe this way we will push each other, because I’ll want to beat him, and he’ll want to beat me and that always makes a team grow, and find better technical solutions for the bike”.
Here’s the full interview of Jorge Lorenzo as Repsol Honda rider