Jorge Lorenzo nears maiden MotoGP world championship
Jorge Lorenzo took a huge stride towards securing his maiden MotoGP world championship after he took victory at Saturday’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Dani Pedrosa came second, while Casey Stoner finished in third, taking his first podium of the season.
Lorenzo now has a 47-point lead over Pedrosa. Lorenzo took pole position and won his fourth race of the season. Ever since Valentino Rossi broke his leg at the Italian Grand Prix, Lorenzo has been the hot favourite to win this year’s world championship. The victory made it ominous for the Spaniard’s pursuers.
“This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone [the last race] because Dani was so fast with the softer tyre early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point. I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tyre would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice. It wasn't easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish,” Lorenzo said.
Lorenzo has already won in Spain- which hosts three grands prix- in May, and the next race comes from Spain again. “Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans,” said the 23-year-old.
Lorenzo’s Fiat Yamaha teammate Rossi was set to be out for the season, but the Italian has targeted a return to MotoGP on August 15th for the Czech Grand Prix, providing his rehabilitation goes well.
“The rehabilitation is continuing as usual, both sitting in the hyperbaric chamber and with some exercises in the gym. Unfortunately my shoulder is still giving me some pain but I am working on the muscles to reduce the pain a bit. If the rehabilitation proceeds without trouble and if everything continues in this way, then my objective is to return at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. I miss my bike, my team and the paddock a lot and this ‘new' sensation is pushing me to get better as quickly as possible,” said Rossi.
Another day and another win for Lorenzo. The title comes ever closer.
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