Fiat Yamaha registered an incredible win in Motegi today although it wasn’t their usual star who took the honours. Usually known to play second fiddle to MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo> decided to turn things around in Japan and took the win to go top of the race for the world championships.
Lorenzo has worked hard at preparing for the 2009 championships and has stated before that his preparations have always aimed at a top-three position in the final standings for the season. Despite his wonderful performance, he was quick to point out the strengths of his main rivals for the title, World Champion Valentino Rossi, Daniel Pedrosa and Casey Stoner.
“I am the leader in the championship but I still think that (Casey) Stoner, Valentino (Rossi) and (Dani) Pedrosa are stronger than us,” said Lorenzo after the race. “They are more experienced with the Bridgestone tyres but we are still learning about them and improving.” “Today I had a great opportunity to win,” said the Spaniard, “I knew that with a hard rear tyre I had good pace, so I saw the chance and I attacked.”
The MotoGP calendar now heads to his home country as the first series of European races lies ahead. Lorenzo, one of the top men in the top category of MotoGP believes that there will be a lot of support for him to continue his form, by the home fans at Jerez. “Jerez is unbelievable - as we all know. All the people there have warm hearts and they are very passionate about the Spanish riders. I think if there is one track where you should take a risk to win it is there.”