Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo finished the first practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix at the top of the tables after starting with an aggressive outlook.
Shaking off the disappointment of last weekend, the Spaniard swapped times with team-mate Rossi for most of the first half of the session before Casey Stoner moved to the top.
Lorenzo continued to post times before putting in some quick last-minute laps to finish fastest.
“I was riding quite aggressively today and I felt good on the bike right from the start, so I am very happy about this after what happened last weekend. It’s very hot and it’s really hard work to ride out there, but I feel okay.” said Lorenzo
Lorenzo crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix on the first lap after colliding with Nicky Hayden, and was suffering from an injury to his finger as a result.
“Unfortunately I have some pain in my finger where I hurt it on Sunday, it’s not too bad but the cut is right on the knuckle, so it’s a bit painful when I have to bend it to brake. Anyway, like I said on Sunday it could be a lot worse! I love riding at this track despite the heat and our bike is working well so I am hopeful for a good weekend.”
Lorenzo’s manager Daniele Romagnoli was happy with the outcome of the session, saying: “Today was generally good for us and we felt confident, like we have in all the sessions this season apart from at Phillip Island.”
“It was important today to check Jorge’s physical condition and his finger after last Sunday, but luckily it seems to be not so bad. We have tested all the tyres and we’ve collected some data which we hope will help us to improve our setting further tomorrow, when we will try to build on this good start.”