MotoGP | Lorenzo 14 th, but Zarco remains a special observer – Moto

Jorge Lorenzo closed the Malaysian Grand Prix in 14th place, returning again in the points area after four fasting races. The centaur of Palma di Maiorca, after the disappointing qualifying session that saw him get the eighteenth best time, improved his performance in the race, crossing the finish line with just over 34 seconds of gap from the winner Maverick Vinales. Performance that approaches the first objective of the performance recovery process of the 32-year-old Honda, namely to arrive at the checkered flag with a maximum delay of 30s from the first classified.

MotoGP | Lorenzo: "Physically and psychologically difficult situation"

Lorenzo therefore said satisfied with his GP: "At the start of the race it was very difficult to handle the situation with the other drivers, the turbulence disturbed my pace a lot"The Majorcan explained at the end of the race:"But there are some positive aspects, because I was able to maintain myself throughout the entire race always within seven tenths of my fastest time". The Honda centaur therefore sees an improvement in his performance: "We are getting closer and closer to the goal of being 30 seconds behind the winner. The two points we have gained are important to help the team fight for the team championship in Valencia, this is the main objective now".

Look who's watching! 👀@HRC_MotoGP Team manager Alberto Puig keeps a close eye on @ JohannZarco1's progress at @lcr_team! 👊#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/FWEkjdlH1k

– MotoGP ™ 🇲🇾 (@MotoGP) November 2, 2019

Therefore, the desire to improve further and interest in the team's results. And yet, several voices of paccock give Lorenzo more and more insistence at odds with Repsol Honda. At stake there would be the 4.5 million dollars that the Mallorcan would not want to give up, but that the Golden Wing team would not like to give to the 32 year old the results of the current season. In light of this, Johann Zarco, ninth in yesterday's qualifying thanks to a lap of about one second faster than that of the Spaniard, the team led by Alberto Puig, who yesterday followed the PL3 of the MotoGP from the LCR box of the centaur of Cannes, remains observed. The 29-year-old, as well as his teammate Crutchlow, was forced to retire in the race following a contact with Joan Mir while fighting for eighth place with the Pramac centaur Jack Miller.

"Fall is not a drama", Said Zarco on his return to the box of the team led by Lucio Cecchinello:"In terms of championship, it means nothing to me. My pace was pretty good and I had visual contact with Quartararo, which was a good motivational injection. We are both French and I thought it would be nice to fight with him". However, the LCR driver found himself engaged in the tight fight with Miller: "I had to overtake him several times, because he always recovered on the straights. I was sure that if I passed Jack, I would have finished eighth". Then, contact with Mir ended his race: "It was a pity, but I keep in mind my good speed", has continued: "At Phillip Island I lost a second per lap, which was a very short distance. In Sepang I halved it and in the end I would have arrived about 15 seconds from the winner. It's a big step forward: I'm back!".