Second on grid
Lorenzo takes second grid position for the Spanish GP, behind Valentino Rossi, and in front of Marc Marquez. It is his ninth consecutive front row start at Jerez.
Second place is not bad. Obviously I wanted the pole position, but it was a pity that I had problems with the second tyre. It was chattering on the straight and in the corners it had no grip so I cancelled the lap as not to crash and also because it wasn‘t worth it, the lap was slow anyway. With the third tyre it was OK and I made a good lap time, a 1‘38.8s, not enough for pole position but enough to be on the first row and that‘s important. I think, after Free Practice 4, that we‘ve got a great pace; a fast pace in the beginning and later a constant pace, so let‘s hope to repeat this tomorrow in the race.
Lorenzo signs with Ducati
Lorenzo will leave Yamaha at the end of the 2016 MotoGP season, and will move to Ducati on a two-year contract. It is reported that his deal could be worth as much as £15m-per-year. Ducati:
Ducati announces that it has reached an agreement with Jorge Lorenzo whereby the Spaniard will compete in the MotoGP World Championship in 2017 and 2018 on the Ducati Desmosedici GP Ducati Team.
Yamaha:
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announces that its partnership with Jorge Lorenzo will be discontinued at the close of the 2016 MotoGP season, when Lorenzo will move on to new racing challenges. Since Lorenzo joined the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in 2008, Lorenzo and Yamaha won three MotoGP World Championships (2010, 2012 and 2015), clinched 41 race wins and have been on the podium 99 times out of 141 races contested. Yamaha is extremely grateful for Jorge’s contributions to its racing successes and looks forward to sharing more memorable moments during the remaining 15 MotoGP rounds of 2016, their ninth season together.
Wins Qatar GP
Lorenzo wins the Qatar MotoGP at Losail Circuit, followed by Andrea Dovizioso, Marc Marquez, and Valentino Rossi.
To choose the right tyre was very important. I tried the warm-up lap with a hard tyre but I did not get the best feeling. It was very risky to go for the soft tyre, as our main rivals Rossi and Marquez chose the hard one. But it turned out well, as I made the fastest lap of 1:54.9 seconds [late in the race], which was impressive.