Michele Pirro has never seen a rider more ‘obsessed’ with changing Ducati than Jorge Lorenzo

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Michele Pirro believes no rider has ever come close to how “obsessed” Jorge Lorenzo was with improving every aspect at Ducati throughout his association with the team.

Pirro has been a part of the Ducati ranks since 2013 when the Italian first joined the Bologna Bullets as a MotoGP test rider. His long stint in Borgo Panigale has since seen the 39-year-old work with a myriad of stars, from Andrea Dovizioso and Lorenzo to Marc Marquez today.

Lorenzo joined Ducati in 2017 following his split from Yamaha, but the Spaniard’s switch did not work out. Despite Ducati handing Lorenzo a two-year €50m (£43.5m) contract, his initial struggles aboard a Desmosedici saw the Bologna Bullets sign up his successor in early 2018.

A bold statement from Marc Marquez! 👀 Do you agree that Jorge Lorenzo was his biggest rival?

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Michele Pirro claims Jorge Lorenzo was ‘absolutely obsessed’ with improving Ducati’s bike

Lorenzo did not find an immediate feeling for the Desmosedici after he joined Ducati, which led to him only ranking seventh in the 2017 standings while Dovizioso finished 37 points shy of beating Marquez to the title. But Pirro saw Lorenzo’s determination to unlock a solution.

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Speaking in March, Pirro recalled how Lorenzo was “absolutely obsessed’ with trying to find ways to improve his situation at Ducati – which no rider has since come close to. A solution was found, too, as Ducati adding padding to Lorenzo’s fuel tank in 2018 led to a turnaround.

Pirro told Moto.it: “Let’s say the obsessed one was Lorenzo, because he really had that drive. I mean, I followed him closely, and Dovi too, but Lorenzo was absolutely obsessed with improving the bike and all that sort of thing.

“The others basically came into a situation where the bike was already working. So, well, all the young riders arrived when the bike already had a solid foundation, let’s say, it was working. So, the other riders put in a lot of work, [but] Lorenzo was obsessed.”

The extra padding that Ducati added to Lorenzo’s fuel tank early in the 2018 MotoGP season helped the Spaniard to utilise his legs more. And with it, Lorenzo scored back-to-back Grand Prix wins in Italy and Barcelona – where he even scored pole position and set the fastest lap.

Lorenzo’s improved results arrived too late to save his career at Ducati, though, as they had already decided to move Danilo Petrucci from Pramac into their factory line-up in 2019. The Palma native ultimately joined Honda for 2019, which proved to be his final year in MotoGP.