Lorenzo 'enjoying life' as a test rider, but…

Triple MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo is 'enjoying life' in his new role as a Yamaha test rider.

But the Spaniard also admits he'd return to racing if offered a 'clear' chance to fight for another world championship.

Lorenzo 'enjoying life' as a test rider, but…

Triple MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo is 'enjoying life' in his new role as a Yamaha test rider.

But the Spaniard also admits he'd return to racing if offered a 'clear' chance to fight for another world championship.

"Now I'm enjoying life and I think I've found a good compromise," Lorenzo told the official MotoGP website.

"It doesn't appear in my mind that I need to come back, ride again and feel again that pressure.

"[But you also miss] the good moments, because when you win a race or championship it's unbelievable. This peak of happiness is difficult to feel in another way."

That led to the hypothetical question of how Lorenzo would respond if he received an offer to return to the MotoGP grid in future.

"No-one has picked up the phone and called me to do this. If it doesn't happen, I'd be happy just the same [as now].

"If it did happen, for sure I would hear them, of course. And if the possibility crossed my mind, for sure I would take it just to try to win. If I see this possibility very clear; that I can win the championship.

"But for the moment I'm very good and I don’t think it will happen. And it's okay like that."

Prompted into retirement by a punishing season at Repsol Honda, Lorenzo then rode his first Yamaha laps since 2016 during his debut as a test rider at Sepang in January.

"Every time I went to a test as a professional rider, I always had the feeling that I needed to demonstrate something. Be as near the top as possible, with this anxiety and pressure," Lorenzo said.

"In Malaysia it was completely different. I just went there to enjoy it and help the team. As an official Yamaha rider, my objective was to win the championship.

"Now I have a completely different role and my objective, my goal is that a Yamaha rider wins the championship."

A winner of 44-races during a nine-year career with Yamaha, before claiming a further three wins at Ducati, Lorenzo soon felt back at home on the M1 in Malaysia.

But if anything, it was too familiar.

"The Yamaha didn't change so much, which is positive because it was a great bike when I left and bad because four years is a long time," he said. "It changed a little, for example the feeling in braking, you can play a little bit more, be less static, rigid, which I think is a good thing.

"But for example, the engine didn't change so much and comparing with my telemetry from 2016, there was not much difference." That was using the 2019-spec bike; "I think they improved a lot with the 2020 bike in terms of power."

Lorenzo hasn't been able to test since Malaysia due to the coronavirus but believes he's already been able to make a contribution to the Yamaha project.

"I found Maverick with me on track [at Sepang, pictured] and I saw that the new bike had some problems to stop. I told them what I saw and then it looked like after this comment they could improve a little bit in that area over the next days and then in Qatar they were much better.

"So I think it was a positive comment, that helped a little bit."

Lorenzo had been due to make a race appearance for Yamaha at Barcelona this season, but the suspension of wild-card entries means he will now need to wait until 2021.

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