Jorge Lorenzo confident he can defend MotoGP title

Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo is confident he can retain his MotoGP world title in 2013 with the resumption of the winter testing campaign drawing ever closer.

Lorenzo, who captured his second MotoGP crown with six wins last year, gave his thoughts on his prospects for mounting a successful defence during a special Yamaha promotional tour with new teammate Valentino Rossi in Indonesia.

Lorenzo begins his pre-season preparations on Yamaha’s latest generation 1000cc YZR-M1 in Sepang on February 5 and he said: “I’m feeling very positive about the 2013 season. I think the arrival of Valentino is good and we have a very strong team now.

I know he is a very talented rider. We will start trying the new bike in Sepang at the next test; I think we have a great chance to be World Champion again. It is going to be very difficult as always, it’s the toughest category. We are confident with our possibilities though and we are one of the favourites. ”

Lorenzo and Rossi were all smiles at a press conference today when they helped launch a new logo for one of the factory team’s key sponsors, Semakin di Depan (Yamaha Motor Indonesia).

How long that lasts when the renew their intense rivalry on track when the new campaign gets underway in Qatar on April 7 remains to be seen.