Jorge Lorenzo working on 'big weak points' with Ducati MotoGP bike

Jorge Lorenzo believes that he and Ducati are separated from Yamaha and Honda at the top of MotoGP by "one or two big weak points".

Lorenzo joined Ducati this year after winning three championships with Yamaha in nine seasons, but he has found the switch challenging.

After five of the year's 18 races he is eighth in the championship, 47 points behind his Yamaha replacement Maverick Vinales at the top, and two spots and 16 points off team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

Ducati had hoped to make a significant improvement on mid-corner performance this season, but it still trails the leading bikes, while Lorenzo has found making the most of its braking capabilities one of his bigger tasks.

Asked by Autosport how he judged his progress and results so far, Lorenzo said: "Difficult, in general very difficult.

"But I don't give up, I am keeping the right mentality, pushing the team.

"The team is working unbelievably, they know what I need and we are getting that.

"I'm getting more used to the bike, I'm playing more with the bike every time; we just need to improve one or two big points to stay there with the top guys.

"We change our lot our possibilities depending on the track, but in general we need something more to be more competitive during a whole race."

Lorenzo salvaged sixth place at Le Mans from 16th on the grid, that tough weekend coming a fortnight after taking his maiden podium with third at Le Mans.

He admits there is still more for him to adapt, but that improvements from Ducati are also important.

"For the moment, I just can adapt my riding to get the maximum with the bike we have," he said.

"When we will try something new, that can improve our one or two big weak points, then we can improve also the bike [specifically] for me and for Dovi.

"Until this happens, I can adapt my style as much as possible to get the maximum out of the bike we have."