Jorge Lorenzo crashed heavily in this morning’s wet third MotoGP practice at Phillip Island and said the consquent sprained ankle contributed to his poor performance in qualifying which saw the former champion finish in 16th place.

The works Ducati man believes his performance today was worse than yesterday and that all the Ducatis are struggling as Andrea Dovizioso could only muster a fourth-row start after his FP4 crash on the exit of Lukey Heights.

“We were not competitive, even less competitive than yesterday. We didn’t start very well but today in general was worse. It’s not our track. Dovi is in very good shape with the bike, mentally he’s strong, he’s doing well. He crashed in FP4 so he probably lost a bit of confidence. But he’s riding really well,” said Lorenzo, speaking at the track.

“The rest of the Ducatis, we are mostly struggling more than other tracks. I feel pain in the ankle, walking. On the bike I’m not the same as yesterday but I can manage. The problem is you cannot push so much with the foot, you have to use more the upper body, so you get more tired. Everything has a consequence.

“It’s not going to be easy, a lot of laps, a very physical track. It’s going to be tough. But we have to do our best.”

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