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Lorenzo explains lack of aero fairing for Qatar

Jorge Lorenzo says he is not using his "preferred" aerodynamic fairing for this weekend's Qatar MotoGP opener because it "created some little problems" with the Ducati GP18.

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Danilo Petrucci, Pramac Racing
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing, Danilo Petrucci
Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team
Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team

The introduction of the Ducati fairing at last year's Czech Grand Prix at Brno proved transformative for Lorenzo last year, as it helped him generate the front-end confidence he needed.

He continued to use it at every race for the remainder of the season, as well as through pre-season testing, but opted to revert to the basic, winglet-free bodywork for this weekend's Qatar round.

Lorenzo said that while he still "prefers" the fairing he used in the second half of last year, it is causing problems while turning with this year's Ducati.

"Looks like with this new bike, that in general is different, the fairing with appendices in the middle of the corner creates some little problems, some closing on the front that I don't like", he explained.

"In normal conditions I would prefer the fairing with the appendices. I lost a lot of corner speed, so for the moment the best combination, even if I would prefer more downforce on the front, is the fairing with no winglets."

Despite ending Friday in fourth, Lorenzo admitted he "doesn't feel happy", as he was nearly half a second behind fellow GP18 riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci.

"I want more, that is why I don't feel happy with the position and the situation that I have now," he said. "I will work to feel more comfortable, faster and stay more in the front."

Petrucci "didn't imagine" being so quick

Pramac rider Petrucci was second-fastest and only 0.006s slower than pace-setter Dovizioso in FP2, and said his pace in practice came as a surprise.

"I didn't imagine to realise a laptime like this, but it is okay, until we are here we are happy," he said. "I never did a laptime like this in Qatar, even [though] for the testing my feeling was better but I think it is because I rode more in the testing.

"I am happy because I stayed in the top three even with the medium tyre all along the session."

Meanwhile Dovizioso, fastest in both FP1 and FP2, said the "laptime came easy" during the day, which allowed him to focus in preparation for the race.

"I feel good, the bike works well at this track for sure," he said. "The laptime comes easy this is very important and helps us to work in the details for the race, because the race is different and you have to be ready in every detail."

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont

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