Jorge Lorenzo put the seal on a near-perfect weekend for Yamaha with victory at Mugello. The Spaniard bounced back from the disappointment of losing pole position to beat Dani Pedrosa by 5.223s, although the gap was up at 6.5 before he eased off on the final lap.
Speaking after the race, Lorenzo was delighted to see the practice preparation pay off as his race pace proved way too quick for the Repsol Hondas to keep up with.
“From the beginning I felt great on this track, the asphalt was completely different to Sachsenring which was a nightmare for us. From the first practice here I felt very strong, very good on the bike and a fast constant pace. It was a pity that we had the problem in the last lap of qualifying but the important thing was the race. Today I was hammering a lot to open a gap at the beginning of the race as I thought my competitors would have problems on cold tyres. Unfortunately I couldn't do it immediately. Only hammering every lap and going faster and faster from 1'48.1 then into the 47s could I open a bit to Pedrosa then little by little it got better and I could start to breathe. It's been a great win for the whole team's efforts and for Yamaha who have given me such a good bike.”
Teammate Ben Spies' luckless campaign continued as he finished down in eleventh but the American did well to finish at all as he battled with a stomach bug and dizziness.
“I'm so disappointed, not just for me but for my whole team and Yamaha who have worked so hard this weekend. I was feeling really not right from before warm up this morning and it just got worse over the day. I was struggling to put three laps together at a time in the race and fighting waves of dizziness and trying not be physically sick in my helmet. Clinica Mobile did their best to help me before the race but it was a huge challenge to focus on the bike at the speeds we do.”
