Jorge Lorenzo - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Jorge Lorenzo is highly motivated for this weekend's Catalunya Grand Prix as he goes in search of victory in front of his home crowd. The Yamaha rider arrives in Barcelona with an eight point championship lead after winning at Le Mans and is hoping the feel-good factor will continue into Sunday.
“Now we arrive at Montmeló, with no need to fly, I love to have this race so close to my home! I remember my victories and podiums here well, not just in this class but also from my 250cc days. It's going to be a tough race because our competitors are very strong but our victory in Le Mans has given us extra confidence. We know we can be very fast and competitive so we will be focused from the first session. This is a special race for me as my home race so I want to give all the fans the best show that we can.”
Teammate Ben Spies is still waiting for his season to burst into life after another tough race at Le Mans. The American finished outside the points after problems with visibility and is hoping for a rain-free weekend to enable him to get to grips with the YZR-M1.
“I really enjoy riding this track so I've been looking forward to getting here and getting started. It's been a really challenging season so far, I really believe this weekend will see a turn around and we can get it back on track. As always I'm going to give it 100% to produce the best results possible. We know the bike is competitive so we'll focus on finding a good base set up quickly and hope we finally have a full dry weekend for everyone!”
Team Director Massimo Meregalli has backed Spies to put his disappointing start behind him and get back to his best in Catalunya.
“Montmeló is traditionally a very good track for Yamaha and we have had excellent results here with both riders last year. It's a special race for Jorge in front of his home fans and with the race win last weekend we are expecting a strong performance. We know Ben likes this track a lot and his podium finish here last year gives me confidence that with the right set up he can perform strongly and put a difficult start to the year behind him.”
