Yamaha Czech GP race report

Tough battle for Yamaha at Brno

Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies

Photo by: Yamaha Motor Racing

Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies secured fourth and fifth places respectively today in a tough battle at the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky race.

World Champion Lorenzo made a great start from second place on the grid, taking the lead on the first lap and holding off his rivals until a small mistake dropped him to third. As race leader Dani Pedrosa crashed out, he was promoted to second but having opted for a softer front tyre than the rest of the grid, the Mallorcan struggled to maintain his pace, eventually finishing fourth at the line. Despite his lack of grip, he started to close back in on third placed rider, Marco Simoncelli, in the final laps and was less than a second behind at the checkered flag.

Ben Spies put in a valiant effort this afternoon, holding a strong pace for the duration of the race despite being in less than perfect condition. He continued to be hampered by physical issues with a numb arm resulting from a trapped nerve in his neck. Having lost one position off the start, he held on to fifth for the 22 lap race, gradually closing in on his team mate Lorenzo in front, finishing just 1.5 seconds behind him.

Lorenzo heads to the next round in the USA at the Indianapolis circuit holding second in the Championship, trailing leader Casey Stoner by 32 points. Team mate Spies also retains his position of sixth in the Championship standings, now nine points behind Valentino Rossi in fourth and just one point behind Pedrosa in fifth.

Jorge Lorenzo: “The front tyre we chose was not the best option today. We tried it in qualifying and yesterday morning and it gave me a really good feeling and very constant pace. Today with the different conditions and temperature it was not working. From the beginning of the second lap I was really close to losing my front in every corner so it was difficult to improve on fourth position. The Championship is now even more difficult for us but that doesn’t mean it is finished. There are still a lot of points to be played for so we must focus on winning the most races we can. Now we must forget this race which is probably one of the worst this season and possibly in my MotoGP career, I am excited to try the 1000 bike and improvements to the current 800 engine tomorrow as well!”

Ben Spies: “That was a hard race; I wanted to quit every lap past the ninth! I tried as hard as I could and didn’t make too many mistakes. I just thought with Valentino coming behind me and being ahead in the Championship I’ve just got to keep on going until I fall of this thing. I didn’t fall off and I finished so it was a good result. Now it’s the complete opposite, it’s my right arm that’s completely dead because that’s all that was working in the race. Again I’ve got to thank the team; the bike was really good and definitely a podium bike. I’ve also got to thank the Clinica guys; I’ve never been in there so much, every day! That was the hardest physical race I’ve ever done. We got it finished, put it behind us and we scored some points.”