The new season will bring important changes to Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard will switch not only from Ducati to Honda, but also from Monster to Red Bull, the energy drink famous worldwide for “giving you wings”. The Austrian company already highlighted the newly started collaboration, as they interviewed Lorenzo about his first impressions on Honda RC213V and 2019.
The interview was filmed on 17th December 2018 in Salzburg, but the fact that Lorenzo was still bound to Ducati delayed its release until the new year began. “I’m very excited, because everything has changed again: two years ago I joined a different team and I started to ride a different bike and work with a different crew, and now I’m doing it again. On one hand it’s more difficult, since it’s easier to go faster when you stay on the same bike you rode the year before, but on the other hand you feel as excited as just some other riders do. You lose on one side, but you gain on the other one.”
One more season with Ducati would have seen Lorenzo constantly in the front, on a bike that finally would have suited him, but this won’t happen. By the way, the first contact with RC213V was much easier than the one with Ducati. And the test that took place in Jerez proved that Lorenzo already enjoys his new machine: “The team is great and very professional, they care of every detail. They paid attention to my words, they looked after me and they gave me everything I asked for and this means a lot – said the rider from Mallorca. “I felt their love and now everything is perfect. I have a great feeling with the bike. There’s still much work to do, but the start was wonderful”.
It’s hard to make predictions before the season begins, but you can’t say that you’re the man to beat if your team-mate has known the bike since 2013 and his name is Marc Màrquez. “I’ll have to fight against Marc Márquez, an amazing rider who has already ridden Honda for six years. It’s very hard, not just for me. I will also fight against Andrea Dovizioso, who’s been riding Ducati for seven years, and Valentino Rossi, who boasts 10 years of experience with Yamaha. They know their weapons much more than I know mine. I don’t know whether I’ll be ready… I must stay humble and learn as much as I can from the people surrounding me, the team and Marc”.
No goal has been set by Lorenzo yet: “I feel lucky, because I can do what I love and I already boast many championship and race wins. As I always say, what comes after the first title is extra. Of course I’ll try to achieve the maximum level, and so the victory, but I’m sure it will be very difficult and, right now, I’m not the one to beat. However, everything is possible in MotoGP“.
Translated by Alessandro Palma