Jorge Lorenzo looks to bounce back on home soil

Jorge Lorenzo is confident he can return to form on home soil in Barcelona this weekend after suffering the first major setback of his MotoGP career last weekend in Mugello.

The Spaniard lost vital ground in the 2008 title race when he crashed out of the top six in Sunday’s Italian MotoGP on his Yamaha YZF-M1.

Luckily Lorenzo didn’t aggravate the recovering broken ankles he suffered last month in Shanghai, but his blunder means he now trails Fiat Yamaha team-mate Rossi by 28-points going into Sunday’s Catalunya clash.

“I’m quite lucky because after the crash at Mugello there’s no time to dwell on it,” said the double world 250 champion.

“We’re straight back to business this week and on Friday I’ll be back on the bike. I’m also going there in good spirits because it’s my home Grand Prix and I’m looking forward to making my MotoGP debut there.

“Finally yesterday we found what the problem had been over the past two races and now it’s just a case of working to solve it. Montmeló is a circuit I like, for its corners and its long straight, as well as for all the fans who fill the grandstands year after year.”

Lorenzo will try new traction control settings to help him recapture the form that marked him down as an early title contender in his rookie campaign.