'The bike is very competitive now,' says Lorenzo after second straight MotoGP win
Jorge Lorenzo secured back-to-back victories aboard his Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1 at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.
Despite a second row start, Lorenzo was able to quickly catch the leading riders. A slower start from Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa had Lorenzo behind teammate Rossi after Lorenzo and Marc Marquez touched lightly on the opening lap.
Lap 5 saw Lorenzo pass his teammate and push hard, creating a comfortable lead of two seconds. Marquez then passed Rossi during the mid part of the race and began to chase down Lorenzo, but the Yamaha rider responded immediately.
1.638s was the gap from Lorenzo to newly crowned World Champion Marquez at the finish line. Lorenzo is now just three points behind Pedrosa and Rossi in the battle for second in the standings, thanks to an incredible second half to the season from the Majorcan.
“Really hard race, maybe the most intense race in terms of pace from the top four. Marc wanted to finish second at least and Valentino wanted to stay close to me so everyone was pushing hard. Valentino was quick in the first two laps but then he started to slow down the pace, so I got past him quickly. I knew Marc was fast so hoped Rossi would hold him up a little. We’re happy to win again at the home of our main rival,” said a satisfied Lorenzo.
He added, “I’m really happy to get the second victory in a row. The circumstances helped us in Aragon, I didn’t think we could win there. Here I knew we had a good pace and I want to thank Yamaha. The bike is very competitive now. Valentino and Marc were very fast in the last few laps and I got a bit nervous. Luckily our gap was enough to win the race. Now the fight is for second place. I think we are so close amongst us three so it will be a very close and interesting fight for second. Marc is the champion, he has been the best all season and he deserves it.”
