Jorge Lorenzo dominated the weekend’s MotoGP in Jerez, Spain and capped off a first place finish by recording the leading time in testing on Monday, on the rider’s 28th birthday.
Something of a forgotten man in MotoGP this season, Lorenzo had bounced back in style on Sunday in Jerez, with a ruthlessly efficient dispatch of his rival racers to take the 55th victory of his career.
The Movistar Yamaha rider’s delirious celebrations, which almost saw him jump into the Jerez circuit’s stagnant lake – – he, wisely, had second thoughts at the last moment — underlined his clear relief at an overdue return to form.
In a somewhat processional race, contrasting with the drama of the three previous rounds, Marc Marquez overcame a badly broken finger to deliver a professional second place, closing the gap to championship leader Valentino Rossi in third. The Italian’s podium was the 200th of his glittering career, a MotoGP record.
On Monday, the teams returned to the Jerez track to test, and Yamaha’s resurgence was confirmed, with Lorenzo and Rossi taking first and second place.
Lorenzo — who sits in third place in the MotoGP standing, 20 points behind Yamaha teammate Rossi in first — recorded an impressive lap of 1.38m.516 seconds, and was clearly delighted.
“I could feel the heartwarming response from so many people,” Lorenzo said. “I’m back in the groove and I returned to the podium, so now I hope to keep this momentum going in the coming races like Le Mans, Mugello and Montmeló.”
Rossi, only four-hundredths of a second behind Lorenzo’s test time, was also relatively content.
“It was a positive weekend, but we could have done better, so today we focused on the bike’s set-up,” he said. “We tried some solutions that we couldn’t try during the race weekend.
“The results of these tests were interesting. In two weeks we will be at Le Mans and we have to do a good weekend. I like the track a lot, but first I need a few days off.”
Marc Marquez’s participation in the Jerez meeting had been in doubt after the champion broke his finger while dirt bike riding.
The 22 year old was protecting his injured digit yesterday, only completing four laps as he tested a new rear suspension for his Repsol Honda.
“We have drawn some very positive conclusions that have allowed us to improve in some aspects today,” Marquez told reporters, having ended the day in 5th, 0.460 seconds behind Lorenzo.
Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, who has impressed so far this season, finished third in testing after a solid fourth place in Sunday’s race.