Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo delivered his second consecutive Mugello masterclass today, repeating last year’s performance to take victory in the Grand Prix of Italy. Starting from second on the grid, Lorenzo was quick to pass pole man Dani Pedrosa and take the lead on the first lap. Although initially difficult to pull away, the Mallorcan put everything into his pace, dropping into the 1’47s to become unbeatable and gradually extend a lead to finish 5.223 seconds clear by the finish line. The win, his fifth this season, puts him on 185 points, 19 clear of Pedrosa in second.
Ben Spies’ run of bad luck continued today in Mugello, the Texan struck down with possible food poisoning on one of the hottest race days of the year so far. Despite experiencing physical sickness and dizzy spells he hung on to complete the race, taking five Championship points. He remains in tenth with a total of 66 points heading to his home race at Laguna Seca in two weeks time.
Jorge Lorenzo
“From the beginning I felt great on this track, the asphalt was completely different to Sachsenring which was a nightmare for us. From the first practice here I felt very strong, very good on the bike and a fast constant pace. It was a pity that we had the problem in the last lap of qualifying but the important thing was the race. Today I was hammering a lot to open a gap at the beginning of the race as I thought my competitors would have problems on cold tyres. Unfortunately I couldn’t do it immediately. Only hammering every lap and going faster and faster from 1’48.1 then into the 47s could I open a bit to Pedrosa then little by little it got better and I could start to breathe. It’s been a great win for the whole team’s efforts and for Yamaha who have given me such a good bike.”
Ben Spies
“I’m so disappointed, not just for me but for my whole team and Yamaha who have worked so hard this weekend. I was feeling really not right from before warm up this morning and it just got worse over the day. I was struggling to put three laps together at a time in the race and fighting waves of dizziness and trying not be physically sick in my helmet. Clinica Mobile did their best to help me before the race but it was a huge challenge to focus on the bike at the speeds we do.”
Yamaha Factory Racing Press Release
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