FIRST VICTORY OF THE SEASON STILL ELUDES FORTUNA-HONDA TEAM
After riding a great race, despite problems with the temperature
of his engine that affected the performance of his Honda,
Jorge Lorenzo could not claim the podium finish his efforts
merited after a last-lap collision with Alex de Angelis with
whom he was fighting for second place. The two riders came
together and ended up on the floor although neither sustained
a serious injury. As a result victory once again eluded Lorenzo
and it was local rider Hiro Aoyama who took the honours on
Sunday. For his part, Hector Barbera has sewn the seeds for
what could be an excellent end to the season after a solid
finish following his fall at Brno last time out.
Jorge Lorenzo
DNF (fell on last lap of Japanese GP)
8th in championship, 98 points
“I am very disappointed because I gave everything,
as did the mechanics to make sure the bike ran perfectly,
but it was not to be. I led the race but we were going very
slowly. Then I upped my rhythm but the temperature of the
engine went up a lot and I had to slow down to protect it.
That first win is still eluding me, but perhaps Sepang will
prove luckier for me than this circuit. As regards my fall,
my only option was to go for that gap and that’s what
I did. I did not go in too hard, though, because if De Angelis
had not touched me I would have come out of the corner in
front.”
Héctor Barberá
8th in Japanese GP
9th in championship, 67 points
“It was a step forward, we managed to finish and that
is the most important thing. I was able to put in some really
good qualifying here and was lapping with the lead riders.
I finished 24 seconds of the winner but that is encouraging,
we must now continue in this way, starting with Malaysia next
week. By the end of the season I want a top five finish. I
am beginning to feel comfortable on the bike and the set-up
was very good. I realise that when I want to lap quicker ,
that is when my problems come but we have room to improve
and that’s a good thing.”
Dani Amatriain, Team Manager:
“It really is proving difficult to achieve, our first
win that is. I feel for Jorge because he riding so well but
has still achieved nothing. But we are prepared to work hard
and that mentality will give us a win before long. De Angelis,
when he came together with Jorge, was saying that Lorenzo
was as much to blame as anyone else. De Angelis tried to close
the door on Lorenzo, who was not at fault, as Lorenzo would
have got past him on the corner, but we can’t dramatize
it too much. As regards Hector, the most important thing was
for him to get a finish and we can know concentrate on the
last five races.”
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