Jorge Lorenzo impressed by potential of new Yamaha

Jorge Lorenzo got a pleasant surprise in Brno yesterday when the Spaniard made an impressive debut on Yamaha’s new 1000cc MotoGP bike.

The reigning world champion was immediately fast and competitive on the new YZR-M1 machine and he set a best time of 1.56.253 in a short shakedown of 28-laps.

Lorenzo hadn’t expected the bike to be so competitive so quickly and he finished just 0.085s slower than Casey Stoner, who was fastest on his second outing on Honda’s new RC213V.

Lorenzo said: “I am surprised and I didn’t expect to be faster with the 1000 on the first day because it is a completely new bike and we are much more competitive than I expected, so the potential of the bike is very good and Yamaha has done a good job. We are a little bit delayed compared to Honda and Ducati but our bike is not so bad.”

Lorenzo had never thrown his leg over a 1000cc machine prior to yesterday’s test and he said: “I enjoyed riding the 1000 a lot because it has much more power and you wheelie a lot on the little straights. And also exiting the corners you slide so much, so I guess next year will be so much more fun for the riders and for the fans.”