Jorge Lorenzo is hoping to produce a repeat of one of his greatest MotoGP rides when the championship moves to Mugello this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix. The Yamaha rider overcame the odds to defeat Casey Stoner despite the Australian having a superior package at the time.
After Stoner's last lap fall at the Sachsenring, Lorenzo leads the defending champion by 20 points with Dani Pedrosa six points ahead of his teammate and Jorge is looking to maintain his consistency.
“After two very difficult race weekends we arrive at Mugello, where we delivered a great victory last year. I love the track; it's very fast and should be a good one for our bike. I'm very happy to be leading the Championship but we still have many races to go so our target is to again aim for the podium and victory if it is possible.”
Teammate Ben Spies finished fourth for the second weekend running in Germany and the American is hoping to claim his first podium of the season on a circuit he expects to suit the YZR-M1.
“Sachsenring was a very difficult race for us, with the different weather conditions it proved to be hard to find the right set up. Having found something that worked on Sunday we were then unfortunately compromised by a lack of side grip so were unable to ride to our full potential. Mugello is a much faster track which should suit our bike well so I can't wait to get started on Friday.”
Sunday's race marks the mid-way point in the championship and team director Massimo Meregalli is praying that Mugello provides a fully dry weekend, something that has been hard to come by so far.
“The last two weekends have been not what we predicted, but finally we head to Mugello with a lead in the Championship, a place where we know Jorge is very fast from last year's race. Ben has had two difficult weekends but has ridden very well under compromised situations. We know the bike can work well so we hope to find a set-up and a tyre choice that work well as early as possible this weekend and hopefully enjoy stable weather to focus on race day!”
