Yamaha factory’s Lorenzo secures podium as Spies finishes sixth at Japanese GP – MotoGP news
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo made a strong finish in second place on the podium whereas his teammate Ben Spies clinched the sixth position in the Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday, October 2, 2011.
The Texan ran wide during the first lap when Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi contacted.
The Spaniard touched Rossi, which forced the Italian to run into Spies. From the incident, Rossi ended up poorly whereas Spies dropped far down in the race.
However, Lorenzo paced up to chase the top three Repsol Hondas ahead of Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli. Casey Stoner’s wide run and Andrea Dovizioso’s penalty shifted Lorenzo to a strong second position in the race.
Lorenzo said, “I didn’t expect such a strange race, Casey going wide and Dovi having a ride through. I thought it was possible to fight with Dani but he came better and better, I think he was inspired today and at a very high level of riding.”
The Spaniard tried his best to cover Dani Pedrosa but he was strong and pushed hard to open up the gap. Lorenzo also stated that his compatriot was riding well and left him far behind.
Considering the following situation from the Japanese GP, Lorenzo thinks it is tough for him to win the title, but he vows to continue the pursuit.
The American Yamaha factory rider had a decent race start as he closely chased Dovizioso but the Lorenzo-Rossi incident pushed him down. Then Spies made a strong run to cover his lost positions but the stand against both Honda riders Dovizioso and
Marco Simoncelli hampered him. Both Italians were running back to cover top slots after going through the pit lane.
Spies said, “It was a bitter sweet race for sure, we had a great start and the bike was feeling really good. I was in a perfect position coming out of turn three, right behind Dovi when I was hit from the back. I lost one hand off the handlebar and
didn’t have much control going into the gravel trap.”
Tags: