Motourage

After two commanding wins in a row at Silverstone and Assen over the last two weekends, Jorge Lorenzo lands in his home city of Barcelona this weekend with a championship lead of 47 points and a plan to delight his Spanish fans with another win on home soil. He has flown the Fiat Yamaha flag alone for the last three races following Valentino Rossi’s accident in Mugello, but this weekend he will be joined by Yamaha’s experienced Japanese test rider, Wataru Yoshikawa. The two-time Japanese Superbike Champion will be riding Rossi’s M1 while the Italian is out of action, backed by Rossi’s usual crew who make a welcome return to the paddock this week.

Last year the Mallorcan-born Lorenzo lost out to his team-mate Valentino Rossi in a titanic last-lap battle, which Rossi named one of his best ever wins. With the Italian still out of action, Lorenzo is robbed of the chance to exact revenge on his team-mate but a second Spanish win of the season, following his victory in Jerez, would be sweet nonetheless for the 23-year-old and he will be going all out to stand on the podium once again.

As one of the key test riders in Yamaha’s MotoGP development program, Yoshikawa is well acquainted with the M1-Bridgestone package. He has ridden as a wild card once previously in MotoGP, at the 2002 Motegi round, but this will be his first visit to the Montmeló circuit.

The Circuit de Catalunya features one of the longest main straights in the world, watched over by a vast grandstand, which is always full to bursting from Saturday morning. The rest of the track is characterized by long radius, medium and high-speed sweeping corners, with two tight left-hand hairpins thrown into the mix. This variation combined with regular changes in camber makes the circuit particularly demanding on chassis balance and means that front-end feel is a key concern for every rider.

Jorge Lorenzo: “We should enjoy Montmeló”
“Montmeló is a very special track for me, it is the closest to Mallorca and I can feel the people supporting me. Last year I lost at the final corner but now I will try to come back to the podium to celebrate with all my fans. We have a big gap in the standings and it gives us confidence and allows us to be calm, but the team will be working at the same level, I am sure. We still have twelve more races, double what we’ve already had! We should enjoy Montmeló and then, after these three consecutives races, we have earned a little break – a week for a rest!”

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