Title tipping point for Lorenzo?

MotoGP News
Date: 17/June/2012

Jorge Lorenzo won’t say it, nor will chief rival Casey Stoner, but Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone may have marked the tipping point in terms of the 2012 MotoGP title.

Lorenzo clawed his way from fifth in the early stages to catch and pass reigning champion Stoner at mid-distance, then rode to a two-second victory.

The win was Lorenzo’s fourth from six starts, meaning he has dropped just ten points so far this season. Crucially it also moved him 25-points clear of Stoner at the head of the standings, meaning he now has a one-race advantage.

There are still twelve rounds to go, but Lorenzo’s faultless form and harmony with his Yamaha is in stark contrast with the ongoing tyre/handling issues for Repsol Honda riders Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.

Stoner admitted he hadn’t felt comfortable from the start of the Silverstone race.

“We just didn’t have any edge grip on the left of the rear tyre. So that was a worry right from the beginning. We started pushing in areas I wasn’t happy to push in,” explained the Australian, looking to retire with a third MotoGP title at the end of 2012.

“Ben [Spies, leading] made a small mistake and I took the lead. But from then on I was just braking as late as possible to try and hold people back.

“For us, there seemed to be something wrong with the left hand side of the rear tyre. Even from lap three or four the tyre seemed to drop so quickly we just had nothing to fight with.”

Lorenzo began his victory pass at the end of lap 11 of 20, but took several corners to make it stick.

“In the end we had a small battle with Jorge. He had  a lot more mid-turn speed and a lot more grip so we tried to get him back on each exit, but he managed to keep it on around the outside each time and then go home to the victory,” said Stoner. “It was disappointing for us.”

Lorenzo could surely have never imagined he would enjoy such a strong start to the season - having won just three races in the whole of 2011.

“It’s wonderful. We are making a nearly perfect season, so I must say thanks a lot for the work done by Yamaha,” he said.

But Stoner remains defiant.

“Championships can turn around in one race. One DNF and a win for myself and we're equal on points and it’s ‘game on’ again,” he said.

On the other hand, should Stoner suffer the DNF it could be a case of ‘game over’.