MotoGP: Lorenzo optimistic despite huge highside

Jorge Lorenzo will go into tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix optimistic that he can pull out a good result despite a horrific highside in this morning’s free practice three session that saw him briefly hospitalised for precautionary checks.

The Spaniard was another victim of cold tyres, joining Dani Pedrosa in launching himself into orbit after failing to give his rear Michelin enough time to warm up. Riders have been complaining throughout the weekend about the tyres needing at least two laps to come up to temperature, with a series of early crashes the evidence.

But despite the monstrous 500GP-era highside and a trip to a local hospital in the air ambulance, Lorenzo was left upbeat about the crash, admitting it could have been much worse.

“I feel much better than a few hours ago. The painkillers and the adrenaline of riding my bike have improved my feelings. I was scared to get injured, especially for the left leg where I had the biggest impact. It was a big crash, but I was able to make it back for qualifying and we did great, especially on the first lap time in my second stint, I didn‘t do so much on the second try.

“Rossi‘s lap time was incredible and also Marquez‘s time. It wasn‘t possible to make it a pole position, but it was much better than we expected when I arrived back at the track.”