Lorenzo: New Yamaha has speed to succeed

MotoGP News
Date: 5/February/2012

2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo made an impressive return to MotoGP action, minus part of his finger, at the Sepang MotoGP test.

Yamaha’s number one rider had been side-lined since a warm-up accident at Phillip Island last October, which cost the Spaniard the end of his left ring finger.

But he was straight up to speed with the new 1000cc M1, which he hadn’t ridden since September. Lorenzo led day one at Sepang, before Honda’s reigning world champion Casey Stoner took over at the top on days two and three.

Lorenzo left Malaysia with the second fastest lap time, 0.59sec from Stoner.

“The finger is shorter - and lighter!” he joked. “Seriously, the finger is ok. I can still touch the clutch lever with all the fingers so it’s no problem. Maybe if I had lost a little more it would be difficult.”

Lorenzo, runner-up to Stoner last season despite missing two events, is the only rider among MotoGP’s big four - alongside Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa - not to have raced in the earlier 990cc era, from 2002 to 2006.

But he insists it was no problem to adapt his riding style from the smaller 800cc machines.

Lorenzo said: “It was easy for me to understand how to go quickly with this bike. I didn't need to spend a lot of time thinking about it.”

Yamaha struggled to match the raw power of the Honda last season, but Lorenzo feels the factory has made significant gains in terms of erasing the top speed disadvantage.

Lorenzo said: “I like the power and top speed. It’s something we didn’t have in the past. Now we need to work a little more on the electronics. On the exit of slow corners, the engine is not very smooth. It feels a bit ‘dirty’.

“Of course every rider wants a better bike and sometimes it is not possible. There is always a limit.

“Yamaha naturally concentrated on the weak points of last year’s bike - top speed and maximum power. We’ve got it. And now we just need to concentrate on acceleration.”

Stoner aside, the new M1 certainly looks more competitive than last year.

“Casey would be fast on a bicycle! He is fast whatever they give to him,” said Lorenzo. “But I made my best time at midday, which is the hardest time with the track conditions so it was pretty good...”

Lorenzo’s team-mate Ben Spies was fourth fastest.