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MotoGP Donington Update

Posted by Staff

Saturday, 21 June 2008

Page 4 of 6

RAIN COMPOUNDS COMEBACK DIFFICULTIES FOR LORENZO

Jorge Lorenzo’s return from injury continued in unforgiving conditions today, with the 21-year-old having to cope with a rain-hit Donington Park as he tried to find his confidence and feeling after his recent run of bad luck. The Michelin-shod Fiat Yamaha rookie was unable to make much headway today and could only manage 17th on the grid, the first time he has qualified off the first two rows since he joined Yamaha.

In the first, very wet session this morning things seemed to be looking up with Lorenzo seeming to find a rhythm and finishing a creditable ninth. The rain eased up throughout the middle part of the day however and, although he improved his time by over three seconds, others improved more and his grid position suffered as a result. With tomorrow’s forecast promising drier weather but high winds, Lorenzo’s aim will be just to finish safely and try to gain some confidence back on the bike in the process, looking ahead to the next race in Assen just seven days away.

Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi meanwhile had a more successful day and will start his 200th Grand Prix from the middle of the front row in second position. The race will begin at the later time of 1500 GMT, 1600 in Europe.

Lorenzo:

“This morning I was riding quite well but in the afternoon the track changed; it dried out a bit and it became more difficult for me. I improved by three seconds but it wasn’t enough because the others improved by six or seven seconds! I’ve never started so far back in MotoGP and it’s a very different experience for me. I would have liked to have done one more session in the dry conditions but it hasn’t been possible, and now I must be very focused tomorrow. For me it will be a success to finish the race, because for sure it’s better to finish than to crash! We have to keep going step-by-step and then I know that we can improve in Assen. Yesterday we made a mistake because we wanted to change a lot of things on the bike but in fact the problem was me; this is a bad time for me but I can’t let it get me down because I know this will pass and that sooner or later things will be better.”

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