Lorenzo says hard tyre gains needed for Qatar victory bid

Jorge Lorenzo believes his chances of fighting for victory in the MotoGP opener in Qatar depend largely on improving the Ducati's pace with the harder tyres.

The Spaniard finished the final pre-season testing session in Qatar with the fourth quickest time, less than two tenths of a second behind pace-setter Maverick Vinales.

Lorenzo's performance was a significant step forward compared to the previous day, where he had finished almost a second off the pace of the Yamaha rider.

The three-time champion believes Ducati's performance over a single lap with soft tyres should allow him to be in the fight for pole position, but he admitted he needs to find more pace with the harder compounds in order to fight for victory.

"We improved the time and the feeling too [over Saturday]," said Lorenzo. "We did quite a few laps in the 54s, most of them in the 55s, and that was very complicated yesterday.

"Over one lap the bike works really well here. There are many riders who can be very quick with the Ducati and we can aim to fight for pole position with Vinales.

"In terms of race pace we still have a lot of work to do, not only here but long-term. It will be interesting to try to improve the bike with the harder tyre because it will be the most consistent tyre for the race."

He added: "This circuit is good for us. We are competitive over one lap, so let's see if we improve the race pace a bit, but are optimistic leaving here."