LORENZO STRUGGLES FOR GRIP AT BRNO

2008-08-15 11:12
Jorge Lorenzo made a tentative return to action at Brno today, having spent the summer break recuperating from the three broken metatarsal bones he sustained during a crash at Laguna Seca. The Fiat Yamaha Team rider is now walking without crutches and was able to ride without pain today, confident that he is back to 90% fitness on the bike.

It was not an easy first day back however as the Spaniard struggled with front-end grip and was only able to put in the 11th fastest round. The team will now work hard, together with Michelin, to find a way to improve the situation for tomorrow.

Meanwhile Valentino Rossi had a more successful opening day back at work, finishing the day second fastest behind Casey Stoner in the combined standings.

Position: 11th Time: 1'58.977 Laps: 45
"I am feeling very good physically, and I only feel pain when I walk to the bike in the garage - once I'm on it I am fine. I am feeling confident but I need half a second more in order to be at the front. The main problem is in the front tyre; I am worried because the first Michelin is in seventh and this isn't great, it is clear that we all need to work together to improve this. We are working very closely together with Michelin and Yamaha and we are trying to find a better way for us here this weekend. It is very difficult at the moment to fight for the podium in the dry, and in the wet we don't know yet. My main aim this weekend is to finish in the top seven. The new asphalt is better than last year so this is a good thing. One more thing I want to say - one of my mechanics, Juanito, has just become a grandfather and so I want to say congratulations to him!"


Team Manager
"We are quite lucky that Jorge's physical condition is good - better than we expected - and in fact it's the least of our problems today! Our biggest issue is the confidence in the front end; we don't have enough grip and Jorge can't go into the turns fast enough. Furthermore, the bike is understeering at full lean and therefore we're losing a lot of time in the corners. From the morning session we were able to improve our package, but it wasn't enough to enable us to fight at the top. Tonight we will work closely with Michelin to analyse data in order to help each other to improve our front grip problem."

Combined Free Practice Times
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'57.231
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'57.410
3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'58.000
4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'58.228
5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'58.264
6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'58.462
7. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'58.672
8. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing

Source: Fiat Yamaha Team

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