Barcelona MotoGP: Ducati 'always knew' Lorenzo would start winning
Ducati MotoGP team manager Davide Tardozzi says the squad "always knew" Honda-bound Jorge Lorenzo would eventually start winning races for his current team
Lorenzo had a tough first year with Ducati and, after a poor start to the 2018 season, eventually signed for Honda for '19.
But Lorenzo finally made a breakthrough by winning at Mugello, and then doubled-up with his victory at Barcelona.
Tardozzi said that Ducati never gave up on its hopes of Lorenzo eventually clicking with the bike as he persisted in his approach.
"What I said several times during last year and the beginning of this year - we always knew that he was going to do it because he never gives up," Tardozzi told BT Sport.
"Even in bad races that he had last year like Le Mans, after 10 minutes he was there with the engineers trying to find solutions.
"Again, he never gives up and a champion like he is, he comes to the point."
Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali explained that rather than feeling bittersweet about the breakthrough due to Lorenzo's departure next year, he is happy that rider and team have "solved the equation".
"That is life, you know, I am usually the type of a guy that looks for the positives," Domenicali said.
"[It] would have been much worse if we ended up with a story without actually being able to make him win.
"I am very happy about the way - we found a solution, he found a solution. Now we can enjoy a lot of racing like this."
"Two months ago, [it] looked unbelievable, no, [it] looked impossible - and now it's done," he said. "We humans very easily get used to the good things.
"This is not very good because you need to enjoy these emotions a lot, but I cannot say I'm not really happy to win two victories in a row with Ducati."
Lorenzo accepted recent criticism towards him, but hopes that people will remember his performances the next time he is going through a rough patch.
"Well, it's just the human nature, no?" he asked.
"We believe the present and when the present is bad, we speak too early, no?
"We need to have more memory and to understand what I've done during all these years in the world championship.
"[It's] 16 years in the world championship and I always came back.
"I hope next time when I go through a bad moment, they remember this time."
Barcelona MotoGP: Lorenzo wins attritional race, Marquez second
Barcelona MotoGP: Dovizioso 'pushing too much' for victory
Why Honda and Yamaha have been left behind in MotoGP's new era
The once all-conquering Japanese manufacturers are going through a difficult period in MotoGP this season. With Suzuki quitting, Honda struggling to get near the podium and Yamaha only enjoying success courtesy of Fabio Quartararo, Japanese manufacturers have been left in the dust by their European counterparts. Key paddock figures explain why.
Who is Valentino Rossi’s newest MotoGP star?
Valentino Rossi’s protégés stole the show at Assen as Francesco Bagnaia stormed to victory to arrest a recent barren run. But it was the rider in second, on Bagnaia’s old bike, who had all eyes on him. Securing his and the VR46 team’s first MotoGP podium, Marco Bezzecchi has all the characteristics that made his mentor special
How Quartararo is evoking an absent MotoGP great in 2022
OPINION: Fabio Quartararo has seized control of the 2022 MotoGP world standings after another dominant victory as his nearest rivals faltered. And he is very much heading towards a second championship echoing how the dominator of the last decade achieved much of his success
The human importance of Marquez’s latest enforced MotoGP absence
OPINION: Marc Marquez will likely sit out the remainder of the 2022 MotoGP season to undergo a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020. It is hoped it will return him to his brilliant best after a tough start to the season without a podium to his name. But it’s the human victory that will far outweigh any future on-track success he may go on to have
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Autosport, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock left by Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. Autosport analyses what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP’s Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How Honda's praise for its 2022 MotoGP bike has turned into doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022