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Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo took another front row start in red at the Austrian GP – his second – and the Majorcan is confident ahead of race day, saying they’re heading in the right direction.

Not quite getting a perfect lap together was nevertheless fast enough for a front row, and Lorenzo more had his eye on his consistency – something that will certainly come into play on Sunday.

"“I believe good things come for a reason, when you’re working well and feeling better, sooner or later you are fast." He said

"That what we confirmed in Brno and especially in the test we made a clear step forward. Here it hasn’t been easy because on Friday morning we were far away, but little by little we improved the bike and I’ve improved my riding. And although we didn’t do a perfect lap, I did a quick three laps in a row, which is important for tomorrow."

"My consistency and riding are always precise on this track, I don’t drop the pace much and this is important for tomorrow. We have to reconfirm our expectations on Sunday but I can say we’re going the right way." He admitted

"The new fairing affects me more than others because of my riding style, but it’s not only that – we’re working on other areas that give me more feeling, too. And I’m gaining more knowledge riding the bike, especially on old tyres, and little by little getting more consistent."

source: motogp.com

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Last season, the Red Bull Ring was a challenge for Marc Marquez, as he fought to stay in the top five and found it a tough venue.

In 2017, it’s a full volte-face as the points leader starts from pole and topped every session on Saturday despite a small crash.

Choosing the right rear tyre will now be the key for the rider from Cervera – who expects big competition on race day from both Ducati and Yamaha.

"I’m feeling much better than last year at this circuit, so this is the most important thing." Said Marquez "Last year we were struggling to be in the top five but this year it looks like we have a good rhythm; we tried many things and it looks like we have a good base."

"I have some doubts about the rear tyre because today I tried the medium and it seems like it has good potential - but with used tyres I feel good, I was riding well and that’s the most important. And to be on pole, after the race in Brno, gives me a good feeling and a good mentality."

"But I know tomorrow we need to finish our job this weekend. During the Brno test, more than improve at that track, we tried to find different setups that would work here and the team did a really good job, since FP1 when I went out and the bike was so much better than last year - completely different balance and I’m losing at some points but I’m gaining at a lot of points, which is more important." He added

"We are not losing in acceleration compared to our competitors. It looks like both Ducati riders have a good rhythm. Especially Dovi, and I think the Yamaha riders will be there. But tomorrow it looks like it will be warmer and choosing the right rear tyre will be important."

source: motogp.com

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Yamaha Valentino Rossi thought he could aim for the front row at the Austrian GP, but  struggled to find more grip on the second tyre in qualifying.

All is not lost, however, with the rider from Tavullia ready for an assault forward on Sunday.

Originally dismissing the new aero-fairing for use in Austria, it was back out on track on Saturday and found to be helpful.

That, added to improvements on race tyres made throughout the weekend, mean the 'Doctor' is hopeful he can get in the battle - despite the added difficulty of starting from seventh.

"Yeah, it was a good Saturday because we improve the bike a lot, especially with the race tyres." Said Rossi

"I think my potential was better and that I could try for the front row or the top five, but unfortunately the second tyre was worse and when I tried to push I had too much spin."

"Unfortunately this sometimes happens and we have to start from the third row which makes it difficult and very complicated, but my pace is not so bad and we can try to fight."He surmized

"I was wrong because I thought this track was not the best track for the aero-fairing, but the bike wheelie-ing is a big problem, and it works well and is also beautiful."

source: motogp.com

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Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso used the medium tyre for qualifying at the Austrian GP and the strategy worked out well – putting him in the middle of the front row.

With good race pace and feeling well prepared for tomorrow, the only question that remains is that of rear tyre choice – similar to key rival Marc Marquez.

But with Q2 doubling as a confirmation of their race pace, it’s looking rosy red for the Italian as he attempts to take the second Ducati victory at the track in two years.

"Sometimes a different strategy to everyone else can work and I’m happy with the decision, it was hard to decide and no one else went with the harder spec but the conditions were strange today." He said

"I’m really happy with the feeling I had in qualifying because it confirmed our speed we’ll have in the race. This morning and afternoon it wasn’t as good as we expected but the tyre worked different to yesterday with a different temperature."

"And today we used a different strategy in practice, I used the soft tyre and we struggled – we were fast but not how we expected, so in qualifying we confirmed we had good speed and I think that’s the speed for tomorrow. But it will be very important to make the right decision on the rear tyre because it has a big effect, but it will be very difficult because 5 or 6 degrees difference can make a big difference." He added

"Tomorrow it looks like it will be hotter but we have to decide now – because in Warm Up it will be cooler! On this track the fairing works very well. I think we can confirm to the engineers that it works very well for the target we wanted to achieve – but unfortunately I’ve not followed a really fast rider all weekend and don’t know the acceleration or braking compared – so we’ll see in the race!"

source: motogp.com

 

         

 

 

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