Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo will be looking to make it three in a row this weekend when the Moto GP roadshow hits his home track of Barcelona for Sunday’s Catalunya Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old, who has won the last two races in Britain and the Netherlands on his Yamaha, will be hoping to make up for the disappointment last year of seeing his teammate Valentino Rossi snatching victory away from him by just 95/1000s of a second.
The Spaniard leads the championship with 140 points, 47 more than second-placed compatriot Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and 51 ahead of the Italien Andrea Dovizioso (Honda).
With 25 points for a win, Lorenzo’s lead is a genuine cushion which, as he says “allows us to remain calm”. He may not need to go all guns blazing in search of victory but Lorenzo is known as a battler.
“The championship will be won this year on consistency,” he has said several times, something which may give hope to Pedrosa. Times LIVE
“Montmelo is a very special track for me, it is the closest to Mallorca and I can feel the people supporting me.”
“Last year I lost at the final corner but now I will try to come back to the podium to celebrate with all my fans.”
“We have a big gap in the standings and it gives us confidence and allows us to be calm, but the team will be working at the same level, I am sure.”
“We still have 12 more races, double what we’ve already had. We should enjoy Montmelo and then, after these three consecutive races, we have earned a little break - a week for a rest.” SkySports
Dani Pedrosa moved up to second in the standings and will have renewed confidence after taking second place at Assen. The Repsol Honda rider has a formidable record at Catalunya, having become the only rider other than Rossi to have won in all three categories there when he took victory in the premier class in 2008. The Spaniard will have his sights set firmly on challenging for the win.
Andrea Dovizioso is battling with his team-mate to challenge Lorenzo and only four points separate the Repsol Honda pair in second and third. Dovizioso has been on the podium four times this season and finished fifth in Assen, so will be hoping to get back inside the top three especially seeing as he has finished fourth at Catalunya in his two premier class seasons to date.
Ducati Team rider Nicky Hayden is fifth in the standings and has drawn level on 61 points with Rossi, and the American has Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) hot on his tail as the contest for fourth place gets closer. Hayden’s team-mate Casey Stoner recovered important ground with his first podium of 2010 at Assen and will aim for a second quick-fire top three, and the Australian was on the rostrum at Catalunya last year. MotoGP
Pos. Rider Bike Points 1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 140 2 Dani PEDROSA Honda 93 3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Honda 89 4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 61 5 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati 61 6 Randy DE PUNIET Honda 56 7 Casey STONER Ducati 51 8 Ben SPIES Yamaha 49 9 Marco SIMONCELLI Honda 39 10 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha 34 11 Marco MELANDRI Honda 32 12 Aleix ESPARGARO Ducati 28 13 Hector BARBERA Ducati 28 14 Mika KALLIO Ducati 20 15 Hiroshi AOYAMA Honda 18 16 Loris CAPIROSSI Suzuki 16 17 Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki 14 18 Kousuke AKIYOSHI Honda 1
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