MotoGP News
Date: 17/September/2011
Jorge Lorenzo's 2011 MotoGP title hopes might be on the ropes, but he can expect no assistance from Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies in Sunday's Aragon Grand Prix.
Lorenzo, the reigning world champion, is 35 points behind Honda's Casey Stoner with five rounds and 125 points remaining.
Stoner is in awesome form and will start on pole at Aragon, while Lorenzo admits he is struggling this weekend and will line-up in fourth place, just behind Spies.
Spies, riding in his first season with the official Yamaha team, is just one point away from being mathematically eliminated from the title chase.
In Formula One, that would be enough for the Texan to be asked to sacrifice his own race in order to assist his team-mate.
But Yamaha claims it has 'never' used team orders and, speaking at Aragon on Saturday evening, Spies confirmed he has no intention of being reduced to a supporting role on Sunday.
"For me there's been no team orders," he said. "I think we saw that at Indy when I passed Jorge, and then at Misano when Dani Pedrosa was able to pass [team-mate] Casey.
"That's the way it should be. Everybody races for themselves. When a championship is won because somebody let somebody beat them, I don't think it means so much.
"I don’t plan on riding any differently on Sunday. Whoever is in front of me - whether it's a Honda, a Ducati or a Yamaha - I plan on trying to pass them."
Speaking earlier in the year, Stoner was equally against any artificial manipulation of the results.
"I don’t think there should ever really be team orders," he said. "It's not football. You're not all on the same team, playing for the same thing. We're each our own person."
But Lorenzo disagreed, saying team orders were appropriate towards the end of the season.
"If your partner can help you - and they are not fighting for the championship - we are a team, no? MotoGP is not football, but it is still a team and success for the brand is very important," said the Spaniard.
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