Yamaha's new/old boy Jorge Lorenzo has proclaimed the MotoGP YZR-M1 'still ideal' for his riding style despite being away from the bike for three years.
Lorenzo came back into the tuning fork fold yesterday at the Sepang shakedown test and completed 46 laps of the Malaysian track, finishing a second slower than fastest man Pol Espargaro.
"It has been a long-awaited day.I was a little nervous to understand several things - whether the motorcycle had changed a lot in three years, whether it had lost some of its strengths, but I have seen that, no, the characteristics of the motorcycle remain the same," said Lorenzo.
"It has many strengths, and some weaknesses that we have already analysed to improve them in the future. Immediately I have seen that the bike is still amenable, with a smooth engine, not very physical for the rider. For my riding style it is ideal, it is still ideal.
"Getting on a motorcycle after three months - on a Yamaha after three years - is a long time, so I had to start off slowly but I improved by a second with each run," Lorenzo added.
"In the end we stayed a second behind first place, a quite acceptable time for the first day and with so few laps.
"I am happy, the team is perfect, the bike is still very competitive and I am sure that with everyone's work we will improve it even more."
It is not yet known whether Lorenzo will take part in the official test which begins on Friday.
