Analysing Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo’s show in the 2011 MotoGP season so far
The 2010 MotoGP World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo rides for Yamaha Factory Racing Team. His partnership with the Japanese manufacturer has been since 2008 with his debut in MotoGP class.
In the off-season testing at Valencia the Spaniard was able to lead the first day of the session while on the second day he was hampered by Casey Stoner, who recently shifted to Repsol Honda squad.
Moving into the 2011 MotoGP season, the official pre-season testing started with first session at Sepang International Circuit. During the three-day test session he was not able to show outstanding performance as the Hondas were dominating the session. Lorenzo
came 2-7-3 during the three-day session respectively. However the Spaniard was fourth in the overall time sheet behind the three RCV riders.
Following with his effort into the second pre-season test session held at Sepang, Lorenzo was still struggling to improve his pace. On the first day of the session Lorenz was third and on the following day he was fifth behind three Hondas and his new teammate
Ben Spies (fourth). On the final day Lorenzo was further dropped to seventh place.
Finally the 2011 MotoGP season was nearing its start following the third and final pre-season test at Losail, Qatar. On the first day, Lorenzo secured fifth place and for the final day he was seventh at the Qatar test. Overall, he claimed eighth position
in the final pre-season test.
The 2011 MotoGP season started its action with first round at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Lorenzo was struggling to improve his pace during the Qatar race weekend. Finally, he managed to secure third place on the gird and on the raceday he was second to
cross the finish line behind season dominator Stoner.
Second race of the season was the Spanish GP at Jerez. It was also important as it was his home event. The Spaniard came lucky and scored a win from third on grid with hard effort whereas his top rivals were out of shape.
Third event came at Estoril, Portugal, where Lorenzo was not lucky enough. Though he scored the pole seat to ensure a good start but the comeback rider Dani Pedrosa stole the win from Lorenzo and forced a second place finish.
During the French GP, Lorenzo did not have the pace to challenge the top riders as he managed a fifth place on the grid and on the raceday he came home fourth.
Coming back to his home ground at Catalunya, Lorenzo was a bit more promising than previous rounds as he qualified third on the grid and came second on the podium.
Arriving at Silverstone for the sixth MotoGP event, Lorenzo was in better form after hanging close to win. However, the rain struck the race day as Jerez and unluckily Lorenzo crashed. It was his first ‘did not finish’ of the season.
Seventh event of MotoGP was held at Assen, Netherlands. Being a special event for Yamaha anniversary celebrations, Lorenzo worked hard to score a victory but he was out of form and finished fourth on grid while came sixth on the race day. On the other hand,
his teammate Ben Spies earned a win for Yamaha.
The Mugello event was a bit relief for Lorenzo as he won the race day from fifth place on the grid. Following into the German GP, the Spanish rider was second to finish the race from third place on the grid.
The mid-season event at Laguna Seca was a bit frustrating for Lorenzo. Despite of leading the race, he lost it to Casey Stoner in the final moments and was a runner-up from a pole seat start.
The first half of the 2011 season has been mixed for Lorenzo but the next half starting can possibly prove in his favour, if he fights hard.
Tags: