Fastest at the previous official test at Sepang, reigning double
MotoGP champion
Jorge Lorenzo was a little disappointed by the half-second gap to Honda riders Marc Marquez and
Dani Pedrosa after two days of testing at Austin, Texas.
But a significant attribute that has been carried over from Malaysia is Lorenzo's impressive consistency during race simulations, having completed 15 laps on his final afternoon at COTA.
Lorenzo, who cut the gap from pace setter Marquez from 0.672s to 0.498s to finish third on the timesheets, told the official
MotoGP website: “Today the confidence has improved and my best lap was one second faster. Also in the last hour we did a mini race simulation of 15 laps. That was good. I kept a constant pace.
“We are not maximum satisfied because we are a little far from the Hondas at this track, but closer than yesterday,” he continued. “The key difference is that we lose some tenths on the straight. They can turn easier in the slow corners and accelerate faster.
“But also this type of track, with this tarmac, helps a little more their confidence on corner entry. We are a little bit afraid to crash and cannot enter the corner with so much confidence.”
Lorenzo finished 0.609s clear of team-mate Valentino Rossi. While the three Honda riders will continue testing on Thursday, Lorenzo and Rossi will next be on track for the last official test, at Jerez, later this month.