GAULOISES CESKE REP GP
The race / JORGE LORENZO CLAIMS HIS SEVENTH VICTORY
OF THE SEASON IN BRNO AND EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Jorge Lorenzo took his seventh victory of the season in race
number eleven, the Czech Republic GP at Brno. The Mallorcan
FORTUNA APRILIA rider now has a seven-point championship lead
over closest rival Andrea Dovizioso who was second in Sunday’s
race. Lorenzo lost a few positions at the start, but quickly
got them back in the opening exchanges. Initially he battled
against Alex de Angelis, Hiroshi Aoyama and Dovizioso, but
soon it was just the Japanese rider who was with him as he
began to drop his title challenger. The decisive action came
on lap 15 when Lorenzo began to lap at around 2’03.5,
almost half a second quicker than his rivals. In the end he
finished some two and a half seconds clear of the field, with
Dovizioso overtaking Aoyama at the death. For his part, Hector
Barbera improved as the race progressed and fought his way
up to take fifth place after struggling with his bike for
much of the race.
JORGE LORENZO, 1st (41.29.204)
“I am a very happy man because previously I have lost
momentum after the summer break. Any doubts I had started
to disappear in qualifying and it was the same in the race.
The first part of the race was difficult and dangerous as
I had to fight in a group of a few riders who wanted to get
past me. What’s more my rear tyre was sliding a bit
and I could not go as fast as I wanted. But at the halfway
stage I managed to get to the front and then started lapping
at 2’03.5 which allowed me to open up a gap and race
alone at the front without any danger. I want to thank the
team because they have done a great job on the bike’s
set-up, the engine was excellent and we have taken another
step towards our objective.”
HECTOR BARBERÁ, 5th (at 30.098)
“It was a difficult race and the positive thing is
that we managed to finish it. We had a lot of problems with
the set-up all weekend that we were not able to solve. When
I opened the gas the bike’s rear end moved all over
the place and I had to fight not to fall. We made a few changes
in the warm-up but they did not help either. When you are
at the front you enjoy yourself, but when you are behind and
fighting the bike the races are long and boring. I hope to
take a step forward in Malaysia as the engine is working well,
now we must sort out the chassis and tyres.”
|
