Team want Lorenzo to reduce errors

The Yamaha rider qualified on pole for his first three MotoGP races last season, winning the third at Estoril, but a practice crash at the next round in China began a series of accidents that ruined the rest of his campaign.

Romagnoli says Lorenzo will have to avoid a repeat of those errors if he is to be a consistent front runner in 2009.

"In 2008, Jorge should have thought more about the lessons learnt from MotoGP than the actual results," said Romagnoli. "Unfortunately, the first three good races he did and the good results he achieved made him feel under pressure and this lead to him to making mistakes. Nevertheless, he had a good championship as a rookie.

"In 2009, we aim to improve on the excellent result achieved in 2008. Doing so means hard work and a high level of concentration. Moreover, achieving good results regularly will be crucial, while at the same time avoiding overdoing things and being satisfied with a good result.

"He needs to modify his working method, as he did during the season. He has to avoid getting too close to the limit at the beginning of official practices, as happened when he fell in China and Barcelona.

"Firstly, setting the bike up is crucial. When this is done and the conditions of the racetrack will be better, it'll be easier to get gradually closer to the limit. Overdoing things before the bike is ready needs to be avoided.

"Last year's experiences were important, even if they were negative to some extent. He's improved a lot, even mentally. This year I'll insist on this direction, hopefully he'll manage to reach the bike's limit gradually during the official practices."

Romagnoli believes there will be more pressure on Lorenzo to succeed in his second season, but says he is capable of challenging for the title.

"Jorge will certainly have more pressure this year, he'll have to show he's improved," he said. "It'll be crucial for him to better manage official practices and races. Sometimes during official practices he felt under pressure from the beginning, wanting to ride fast from the outset and this led to errors. Anyway, the experience he gained during last season strengthened him and he'll handle pressure much better this year.

"This year Jorge could win some races and achieve a number of podium finishes, as he showed last year, but it won't be easy to do so in every race. The championship will be challenging this year. It's too early now to say he'll win the title, but he has the ability to challenge for it."