Lorenzo is looking for improvements from his Yamaha machine.

Jorge Lorenzo and the Factory Yamaha team have both conceded that there is work to be done if they want to stay in this year’s MotoGP title hunt.

After Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the French Grand Prix, Lorenzo’s fourth place finish at the Le Mans circuit saw him increase his championship lead to twelve points.

“I think the race has been good in general for us and the results and points are good for the Championship,” commented Lorenzo.

While on paper the result looks promising, Lorenzo could not find the pace on his Yamaha to run up front with Casey Stoner’s Honda machine.

He realises that unless some improvements are found in the Yamaha soon, his championship lead will quickly narrow.

“Obviously I would like to fight with Casey and the other best riders for victory but at this moment it’s really hard. What I can do is try to finish with the best result possible, take the maximum from our bike as it is now and wait for future improvements.”

Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager Willie Zeelenburg reiterated Lorenzo’s concerns.

“It’s been a very tough race here in France but the final result is not so bad. I’m not talking about the fourth position but the fact we are now leading the Championship by 12 points,” Zeelenburg reflected after the race.

“I think it’s very important to look ahead, we’ve got a lot to discuss after this weekend and will be looking for big improvements moving forward.”