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Lorenzo Strikes in Silverstone

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo put in superb performance today for the Grand Prix of Great Britain, taking victory at the Silverstone circuit, his third consecutive victory this year...

Having started from fourth on the grid, he dropped to fifth at the start and held position until lap six when he carved through to take up second place behind Casey Stoner in the lead. Stoner was only able to hold him off for four laps before the Championship leader made his move, the pass a beautiful battle with his rival over several corners. Lorenzo then led from lap 11 to the finish line, a small mistake four laps from the end causing him to sit up was the only threat to victory. He crossed the line 3.313 seconds ahead of Stoner, taking maximum points and increasing his lead in the 2012 standings to 25 points. Lorenzo heads to Assen in two weeks time now having won four of the six races of the season with a point tally of 140. The victory also increases Yamaha’s lead in the Constructor’s standings to 140, 14 ahead of Honda.

Ben Spies made a dazzling start to the race, shooting from the front row to take first place by turn one. The Texan then delivered four perfect laps at the head of the pack and was looking in dominant form until a dramatic drop off in tyre grip dropped him to second by lap five behind Stoner. As he fought to maintain a competitive race pace he gradually dropped to fifth, a position he held to the finish line. The result is his best finish of the season, awarding 11 points and bringing his tally to 35 and keeping him in 11th place in the standings.

Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha : 1st Time: 41'16.429
“Today was a very difficult race, the front guys were very strong and very fast so it was very hard for me to catch them and stay with them. Little by little the rear tyre drops a bit more, I had good confidence and I was faster than them and I started to catch them. When I caught up I didn’t want to crash so I waited for my moment and was patient. When I caught Casey we had a wonderful fight, luckily for us I had a better pace and I passed him. Four laps from the end I made a big mistake and almost crashed! I’m very happy with the result, and for the team who gave me a good bike again.”

Casey Stoner, Honda: 2nd
“It wasn’t a great race for us today, we saw the pace the Yamahas had in the early laps and it was really worrying to me. As early as lap three the bike wasn’t feeling good, especially on the left side, the tyre destroyed itself almost immediately. My plan was to try and get to the front and hold them up, but Ben was proving difficult to pass, then he made a small mistake and I was able to slip through and I tried to hold it from there. We knew we didn’t have a better pace than the other riders and it wouldn’t be long until they were on us, so I did what I could to stay in front. We were losing so much grip on the edge of the tyre that we had no mid-corner speed and we were having to make up for this with the entry and a clean exit, which made things difficult. Today we needed a little more grip and we would have been able to fight for the win, but looking at the rear tyres at the end of the race, there was definitely something wrong with ours.”

Dani Pedrosa, Honda: 3rd
“I have mixed feelings after this race. I’m happy to be on the podium at this circuit for several reasons: it’s a track where I have always struggled a lot. We had a very tough weekend – It wasn’t easy for us to learn the circuit and set up the bike with these weather conditions. Also, I didn’t have one of my best race starts. I was seventh on the first lap, but I managed to remain calm and get faster lap after lap, maintaining my rhythm. I saw that Jorge was the man to follow, so I managed to pass Dovizioso, Bautista and Spies and caught Casey, who was second. But at this time, Jorge was gone and I tried twice to pass Casey, but he pulled a little again and in the last chicane, I tried to overtake him, but I had a flash in my mind and I saw both Repsol Hondas on the ground, so I settled for third place. It’s positive to both be on the podium if we consider that it’s the first race for the team with this new front tyre, but for the championship it is not good. We need to make a step forward to solve the problems we have with the chattering because right now, Jorge is too strong for the Hondas.”

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