On The Record: Jorge Lorenzo

The problem is that Honda has improved its weak points. In some races in 2009, they dropped the pace so much because the rear tire started to slide too much. They have solved this problem so they can be more competitive. Now, they don't seem to have any weak points.

Normally, the front tire is working good for us. Sometimes, we need to be aggressive on acceleration to be at temperature for the rear tire. If you are too smooth, it's very difficult to be at temperature. You exit the corner, you don't have grip and are slower, making the tire even colder—it's a thing that never ends. Casey Stoner was very good at this. On the throttle, he had confidence. He warmed up the tire very well.

The Hondas have the possibility to pick up when they accelerate. When we accelerate, our bike is still at an angle; we don't have the possibility to pick up the bike. When the Hondas accelerate, they pick up very quickly—straight and go. When they accelerate, they are very, very quick.

Honda always concentrates on the engine, Yamaha the chassis. When Honda wants to improve, they make a more powerful engine. When Yamaha wants to improve, they make a better chassis. For this reason, the Honda engine is always faster than the Yamaha engine.