British MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo rampant at Silverstone

Jorge Lorenzo strengthened his grip on the 2010 MotoGP world championship with a crushing British MotoGP success at Silverstone yesterday.

The Spaniard’s third win of a hugely impressive season never looked in any serious doubt as he streaked away from the field on just the second of 20-laps at the fast and flowing Silverstone track.

Lorenzo was so far ahead at one stage that his race became nothing more than a high speed test of concentration as he coasted to a win that extended his series lead to a comfortable 37-points over closest rival Andrea Dovizioso. 

The 23-year-old, who has now won eight MotoGP races, said: “Today was a race where you can crash or make a mistake and it was difficult to go fast at the beginning and also to be very concentrated and not to make any mistakes.

“I was very comfortable and the rear tyre was sliding but I think for the rest it was a little bit worse.”

Lorenzo quickly pounced on compatriot Dani Pedrosa’s fragile confidence to pass the Repsol Honda on the first lap and he said: “I knew Dani had some doubts in his mind after two crashes and I tried to overtake him. I expected that he could follow me for about four or five laps but instead he dropped back and I just focused on my own job.

“I didn’t see anything much of Dani. At the beginning he was trying at the maximum on the brakes. He was aggressive but I knew he had a loss of confidence with his crashes and it was relatively easy to overtake him.

“My pace at the beginning of the race was so fast I didn’t expect to be 2.5 seconds clear so quickly. I was very constant and very fast and it was clear the other riders didn’t have the same pace.”

Despite enjoying such a massive advantage in the title chase, Lorenzo is refusing to get too carried away with talk of becoming only the second Spaniard in history to lift the MotoGP crown.

He added: “A rider cannot be racing and thinking about the points because when you think about the points it is impossible to win at this level in MotoGP. So if I want to continue winning and being on the podium you have to think about enjoying the racing and stay happy.”

Lorenzo though did admit changing his mental approach after Fiat Yamaha team-mate was sidelined until at least mid-August with a broken leg suffered in Mugello earlier this month.

The double world 250GP champion said: “One of the more important things has been my change of mentality because after Mugello I was a bit worried about the crash of Valentino and how him not being there would affect my mind. But I just enjoyed my job and like this I can get what I want at the end of the year. We have to be patient and keep working.”

Lorenzo celebrated by dressing up as one of The Beatles with three friends.
He said: “ “Normally I have some music in my MP3 and it was a long time since I heard The Beatles. But we are in England and it was nice to pay homage to them.”