Yamaha: Lorenzo would be a great test racer

Chief of Yamaha MotoGP teams, Lynn Jarvis he is still convinced he would be Jorge Lorenzo an excellent test racer if their test program had not been curtailed by the Covid-19 virus crisis.

Lorenzo finished racing at the end of the 2019 season, and returned to camp as a test racer during the winter break. Yamaha, where they planned a European test team to help develop the motorcycle. But the outbreak of the coronavirus limited travel around the world, and as a result, Yamaha’s plans fell through. Lorenzo sat on the motorcycle only twice, in February in Sepang, and then only in October in Portugal, where he did not show competitive form.

Lack of testing it hurt Yamaha, Jarvis is convinced, which in his opinion is evidenced by the fluctuations in the form of their racers. "We had a new motorcycle with a new powertrain, a new frame, but we hardly tested it, arsenic in winter testing," he said. “This season, we took Jorge under our wing and prepared a test program throughout the season, but we used a Japanese test team with a few staff from Europe. Unfortunately, Jorge only drove for two days in Sepang and then before the race in Portimao. Unfortunately, all activities were canceled this year, which hurt us and had a big impact throughout the season, as we couldn’t fix the problems, ”explained Jarvis, who added,“ I still think Jorge would be an excellent test racer suitable for the role which we planned. ”

Lorenzo's place will be taken by the Briton next season Cal Crutchlow, which upset the three-time world champion a bit, but at Yamaha they are confident they made the right decision. Now they hope Cal, with his experience over the course of the season, will help the regular racers save grip problems, but at the same time they do not intend to repeat the mistake as with Lorenzo. “I believe we made a good decision, as Cal is used to working hard and already wants to start on our project. We do not intend to repeat the mistake, so we will undoubtedly carry out a more intensive program next season and we believe that together with the engineers we will be able to improve the motorcycle based on this year's data. We believe that we will solve the problems next season with the help of Cal's feedback and pre-season testing, ” Jarvis added.