Lorenzo: Lot of pain after scary test fall

Jorge Lorenzo returns to complete his Monday MotoGP test schedule despite being in 'a lot of pain' after morning fall that left his bike on top of a tyre barrier.
Lorenzo: Lot of pain after scary test fall

Jorge Lorenzo's Catalunya MotoGP activities came to a painful end when, having triggered Sunday's multi-rider race accident, he suffered a fast fall at the Monday test.

The Repsol Honda rider lost control at Turn 8 shortly after 11am, on what is thought to have been an out-lap. The fast lowside sent the Spaniard bouncing through the gravel before slamming into an airfence, while his bike came to rest on top of a tyre wall.

Following medical scans, and with numerous new parts to test, Lorenzo returned to action and went on to complete 65 laps.

But it was a gruelling experience.

"I have a lot of pain. Especially in my back, but also elbow and some toes that I injured in Aragon last year," Lorenzo said on Monday evening. "It was a very big crash. Not a highside, I just lost the front but at a very high speed and with these bikes when this happens you enter the gravel so quick and the runoff area in some of the corners here is very small.

"Even the gravel didn't stop my body and I hit the airfence, then I saw the bike out of the track. I was very scared because I felt some pain in my back, but I made all the scans, the x rays, and nothing is broken."

The triple MotoGP champion - yet to break claim a top ten finish for Repsol Honda, but fighting for third before Sunday's incident - was ranked 17th quickest at the test, 1.4s from Maverick Vinales (Yamaha). But given his condition, Lorenzo's priority was just to complete the test programme.

"I decided to get back on the bike and - even feeling a lot of pain and without the possibility to push - it was important to at least try all the things that we have on the schedule, to give the information to improve the bike to the engineers.

"We continued to try ergonomic things. To feel better. Also some small things on the bike, the chassis," Lorenzo explained.

"Some of the things we had today were more for the future, for next year. But most of them are for the next races and came from the meeting we had in Japan.

"I have to say that Honda worked really quick. I was really surprised about the capacity and speed for giving me these new pieces and some of them were good. So I'm happy for that."

Lorenzo might also indirectly benefit from LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami trying the 2019 bike on Monday.

The Japanese usually races the 2018-spec RCV and the engine rules mean he will have to stay on that machine for the remainder of the year.

However, Nakagami also has a high corner-speed style like Lorenzo, meaning his Monday feedback might be of special interest to HRC in terms of helping unlock Lorenzo's potential.

"I think he tried the new bike and Marc tried Nakagami's bike, so now we have more information about the good points of the new bike and the bad points," Lorenzo said.

"Obviously in general I think the new bike is better and especially has more potential, but also has some negative points. I think in some area, especially the entry to the corner, the old bike is a little bit better.

"But obviously it has less power and in some areas it's worse. Let's try to make a new bike for next bike for next year without any negative points and everything good!"