I had the speed to fight with Lorenzo, says Iannone

Omnisports

March 21, 2016 4:53 AM

Andrea Iannone believes his Ducati had the pace to fight with Jorge Lorenzo prior to crashing out of the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix.

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Andrea Iannone believes his Ducati had the pace to fight with??Jorge Lorenzo prior to??crashing out of the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix.??

Iannone was in second place??when he crashed out of the opening race of the 2016 MotoGP season while trailing team-mate Andrea Dovizioso on Sunday.

The Ducati duo were one and two in the opening stages at Losail International Circuit before defending world champion Lorenzo went on to claim victory.

Iannone said he felt he had the speed to challenge Lorenzo before his race-ending crash.

"I am very disappointed, because had a really good pace," he told reporters. "From the beginning I push very hard, I was riding very sweet.

"But when I take a different line and touch the white line, I go down. It???s very strange, because usually the white line has grip but this time it???s very slippery.

"For sure I'm not very happy because the pace was really strong ??? it???s difficult to accept because I???m sure it was possible to fight with Jorge.

"Next time we try another time ??? in another way, it's positive because we have a good possibility to fight at the top in every race, and for sure this is my objective."

Dovizioso went on to finish second, with Honda's Marc Marquez rounding out the podium.??

Omnisports

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