Jorge Lorenzo couldn't help but smile at the fact his best chance of a Ducati victory so fa🍷r came in damp conditions at Brno on Sunday, conditions often viewed as his weak point.

The triple MotoGP champion led the opening three laps of the Czech Republic Grand Prix on a drying track, but saw his hopes🐓 collapse when his dry bike wasn't ready at the pit stop.

Now MotoGP heads straight to Austria, where Ducatiꦚ claimed a one-two finish last season. Is the Red Bull Ring Lorenzo's best chance of a debut Desmosedici ﷺwin?

"You never know! On Sunday I think I had options to win the race, but I was unlucky that the conditions changed and it🏅 became a flag-to-flag race, which for me is always tricky," Lorenzo said.

"If we had the race in the rain I think we had a chance to win. But obviously I would like to win also in the dry and Austria is the track theoretically better for the Ducat൩i. Let's see if I am ready enough to fight for the win."

He added: "Probably I would like to have Austria at the end of the se🅰ason! Because for sure I would be more prepared and more natural with the bike, but it's okay. It's better now than the first round. I think we arrive in a good point because we found something on the bike that gives me more confidence. I'm faster and more consistent. So Austria arrives just in time."

Lorenzo's competitive Brno form - he was also fourth in dry final practice and sixth in qua🥂lifying -  coincided with the arrival of the new Duca🔯ti fairing.

"It helps in corner entry and braking, but also in the middle of the corne𓃲rs. I am a rider who needs a lot of front contact because I put my body weight very far from the bike. So I really need to feel the front stay on tꦐhe ground. If not I suffer. This fairing it gives me much more pros than cons, for my riding.

"Andrea [Dovizioso] tried it today [at the Brno test] and he is doubting ab💟out that. He feels better on braking, better on acceleration, b🉐ut in some areas he didn't like it. I don't feel so much negative things, apart from the top speed.

"It's difficult to arrive at the level of the o🉐ld wings, but they've been made for that."

Quizzed on why he prefers to run the shorter bi-plane version, rather than the full tri-plane fairing, Lorenzo replied: "It doesn't chan🥃ge so much for the moment. We have to study a little bit more but it's a very small difference."

Lorenzo set🌊 the fourth fastest lap time at t🌌he dry Monday test, as the top Ducati rider and just 0.380s from the top.

"[My form] is not only about tha🐠t. I used the wings alꦿl weekend and kept using them today, but also we found some settings that for me will be very important to be faster. To be more confident, for my riding. That's why we are very satisfied about today's test."

The #99 also tried the new swingarm u🉐sed by team-mate Andrea Dovizioso: "A sm🔜all difference, we need to study a little bit more. What are the gains and loses."

Meanwhile the verdict on the prototype 2018 tyre was clearer: "The general comment from everyone wa🅷s a little bit worse, a little more vibration. So I hope that they don’t put it for next year and the bring another one to test."

Free practice i꧅n Austria starts on Friday morning.