Fiat Yamaha Team new-recruit Jorge Lorenzo proved his Qatar podium was no fluke by taking third in his home Grand Prix at Jerez today. The youngster joined his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who finished second, on the podium and marked a great day for the team in front of over 130,000 Spanish fans and King Juan Carlos of Spain.
Lorenzo started from pole for the second race running but was unable to keep pace with his Dani Pedrosa, who led over the line for the first time. Meanwhile Rossi had moved to within striking distance of his team-mate by the third lap, making his move on the next lap and passing the Mallorcan to take second. Lorenzo rode strongly in third for the remainder of the race but was unable to get close enough to Rossi to mount a challenge, crossing the line 1.456 seconds adrift of the Italian. Rossi likewise was unable to make much of a dent in Pedrosa’s lead and finished 2.883 seconds off the winner. With two podiums under his belt Lorenzo holds onto second in the championship whilst Rossi moves into third and the Fiat Yamaha Team top the team table.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position: 3rd
Time: +4.339
“Of course I’m a little bit disappointed today because we thought that we might be able to make more of a challenge, but I can’t complain because it’s only my second race and I’ve had two podiums and two pole positions, so it’s still a great result! To race today in front of so many Spanish fans and also The King was something incredible and I have really enjoyed myself a lot here. Dani was a fair winner today, his pace was very strong and I couldn’t stay with him, but I am learning all the time and I will be stronger again at the next race. It’s a very long championship and this is an important result for us. Thanks to my team and to Yamaha and Michelin, everyone worked very hard and I think we’ve done a very good job so far. To be second in the championship at this point is still f ar more than I expected and now I am just looking forward to the next race.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “Today’s result is a great one! This was just the second race of Jorge’s MotoGP career and he got his second consecutive podium! He rode the race of an “old” MotoGP rider today, in a very clever way. He concentrated on taking home the best result he could, without making any mistakes or wasting the great pole position he started from. The Team did an excellent job and, together with Michelin, we were able to find a good package for this track. Now of course motivation is running high and we will use today’s result and data in order to improve things further and to go to Estoril in the best shape possible.”
Masahiko Nakajima - Team Director
“Jorge’s performance today was quite impressive, bearing in mind that this is just his second race in MotoGP! During the race it seems that he lost a little bit of the feeling with the bike that he had yesterday and on Friday, but anyway it is clear that he is ready to win a race, already! One of the team’s tasks is to maintain a good atmosphere around Jorge and to make him feel relaxed and concentrated, and so far it seems that this is the case. As far as tomorrow’s test is concerned, we will keep on working on the electronic setting and on testing more tyres with Michelin, as we look to continue to improve our package ahead of the next race.”
Ambient temperature: 19
Track temperature: 23
Humidity: 26
Results: 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 45'35.121
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 2.883
3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team + 4.339
4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda + 10.142
5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 27.524
6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha + 27.808
7. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing + 28.296
8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 28.449
9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 32.569
10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki + 35.091
11. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro + 42.223
12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro + 44.498
13. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing + 45.807
14. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 45.871
15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team + 1'09.558
16. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team + 1'14.442
Not Classified: Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 22 Lap
Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 25 Lap
Championship Standings: 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 41
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 36
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 31
4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 30
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 21
6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 20
7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 19
8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 19
9. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 13
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 10
11. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 9
12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 9
13. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 7
14. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 6
15. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 3
16. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 3
17. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2
18. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1
Jerez Lap Record: V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1'40.596
Jerez Best Lap: L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1'39.064
