Lorenzo: Finding maximum harder but extra challenge an edge

Jorge Lorenzo says weighing up the positives and negatives he’ll face adapting to Repsol Honda in MotoGP he still sees an edge he can use on his rivals from the “extra challenge and excitement”.

Speaking as an official HRC rider after his Ducati contract expired at the end of 2018, Lorenzo has appeared in videos released by both Repsol Honda and Red Bull reflecting on his arrival at the team and expectations for 2019.

While the five-time world champion has been honest in his assessment that it will take time to “improve my riding style on the bike”, leading to his uncertainty on whether he’ll be able to fight for the MotoGP world title in his debut Honda year, Lorenzo feels there are also clear positives which many of his rivals don’t hold having stuck with the same team.

“I am very excited as everything has changed again,” Lorenzo told Red Bull in an interview. “Two years ago, I changed completely: the team, the bike, and the people surrounding me and working with me. And now I do it again!

“For one part it is more difficult, as when you stay on the same bike you get better and better and better as you know more secrets and get to the maximum more easily.

“For another part, you have the challenge and the excitement. I have this extra challenge and excitement the rest of the riders do not have. You lose for one part but you gain for another.”

Lorenzo has called his early integration into the Repsol Honda squad as “unbelievable” after his maiden tests at Valencia and Jerez last November and felt the team delivered all of his requests.

At Jerez, a range of modifications were spotted on Lorenzo’s RC213V including a grippy fuel tank which he credited as a key part for his maiden win breakthrough with Ducati at Mugello last May.

“It was all great at the Valencia test, the first time I jumped onto the Honda, and the second time in Jerez, everything was unbelievable in the team,” he said. “The team is so big, so professional, everything is perfect and they took care of all the details. They paid me a lot of attention, they looked after me a lot, they brought me all that I ask for and that is very important.

“I feel loved by them and for the moment everything is like that. The feeling on the bike is fantastic right now.

“I think, obviously, I still need to improve my riding style on the bike, I still need to make the bike more in my style but the beginning has been great.”

Lorenzo will join new team-mate Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda’s 2019 season launch in Madrid on January 23 ahead of the first Sepang pre-season test on February 1-3.