Lorenzo blames mosquitoes for jump start
A confused Lorenzo saw red and thought it was ready to race
MOVISTAR Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo started the Austin MotoGP ahead of every other competitor due to a jump start as he became confused after removing a tear off.
Speaking at Austin after the race, Lorenzo said: 'When I arrive to the grid, I have too many mosquitos on my visor so I decided to take out the tear off.
'I never do this and at this moment, I get confused and when I see the red light I thought it was the start of the race. It went red very late.'
The former double MotoGP World Champion had to claw his way back through the pack after his ride through penalty which he completed after lap one.
'It was difficult to keep calm and not get too stressed and crazy, I have some moments into the last corner with my rear wheel in the grass.
'For all the confusion at the beginning, I couldn’t ride the maximum, I was nervous on the braking but by the time I relaxed, the tyre was already bad,' concluded Lorenzo.
Movistar Yamaha Team Director Massimo Meregalli defended his rider saying: 'No matter how hard you prepare for a race weekend there are some things that cannot be anticipated.
'We all know he is one of the hardest working riders here and very rarely makes a mistake. He did a good job to make the best of it afterwards.'
