Lorenzo Makes it Three in a Row with Masterful Mugello Victory

Jorge Lorenzo struck again at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello today, taking his third consecutive Gran Premio d'Italia victory in fine form. Starting from second position on the grid the Yamaha Factory rider wasted no time in striking, diving up the inside of leader Dani Pedrosa through turn three and taking control of the race. The reigning World Champion kept Pedrosa and Marc Marquez close behind until the halfway point, then put the hammer down, delivering a series of untouchable laps to build a gap that had grown to nearly five and a half seconds as he crossed the finish line. The race win, Lorenzo’s 25th Premier Class victory, moves him to second position in the standings on 91 points, now just 12 behind Pedrosa in front and 14 ahead of Marquez in third.

Home hero Valentino Rossi’s Mugello race proved to be the nightmare opposite of his teammate’s success story. The Italian nine-time World Champion came together with Alvaro Bautista between turns two and three on the first lap, coming off at high speed and into the air fences to the disappointment of the thousands of fans present. The resulting DNF leaves Rossi in sixth position in the Championship standings on 47 points.

Jorge Lorenzo

1st
“The conditions and the circumstances were good for us and I didn't make a mistake, I made my best performance even if the conditions were much hotter than this morning. We are still struggling so much when the conditions get hotter. Anyway the key of the race was in the middle where I improved my riding, I was able to brake later with less fuel in the tank so I was able to improve the lap time by two tenths, from this moment Dani gave up a little pace and I could get away and win the race, more or less like last year. It’s very special; I won the last three years here so this track is magic for me and very positive for Yamaha. It also reminds us to keep working on the bike as at the tracks which are not so flowing like Mugello we will struggle. I’m very happy to give this win to Yamaha Motor Racing President Shigeto Kitagawa because this was his last race here in Grand Prix, as he will retire. He has done a great job for the team in the last years and it is a big loss for us. I hope he will enjoy the different life he will have. Our president Yanagi-san is also lucky for me, I won the 2010 Championship in Malaysia when he was there on the track and again today a victory with his presence.”

Valentino Rossi

DNF
“Unfortunately in the start I had a problem with the clutch spinning and I lost two or three positions. Then I was attacking because we had a good pace and I was fast. On the second corner I was on the outside already in front of Bautista. For me, from the inside he opened the throttle to close the line so he doesn't lose another position but I was already in front so he came to me and took me on the boot. I was lucky because it was a bad crash and I arrived at the wall but I’m ok. We will try next week in Barcelona, but it is a pity because firstly it is Mugello and secondly I think we could have done a good race and maybe arrived on the podium.”