Jorge Lorenzo happy with swing of fortune in MotoGP title battle as Casey Stoner crashes at end of German Grand Prix
Jorge Lorenzo admitted that he would have been "so happy" to simply finish third in the German Grand Prix, before Casey Stoner's dramatic last-lap crash handed him second and with it the championship lead
Lorenzo was facing a deficit of at least four points to Stoner with just two corners to run, only for Stoner to fall and promote the Spaniard into a lead of 14 points over victor Dani Pedrosa.
After his heartbreak in the Dutch TT, Lorenzo admitted Stoner's crash was a welcome slice of luck in a race in which Honda was "impossible to beat."
"Things can change completely in one race," Lorenzo said. "In Holland we had a 25 point advantage then suddenly zero, one engine less and we were very disappointed.
"Then today we had some luck from Casey's unfortunate crash. I would have been so happy to have finished in third position because today the bike and the rear tyre was not so good, so this was a bit of luck.
"The Sachsenring is not one of my best tracks, I've never been very competitive. It's been a difficult weekend in general, but today the Hondas were impossible to beat so we've been lucky.
"I would have preferred not to crash in Assen and for Casey not to crash here but that is racing sometimes.
"Now we are leading the championship, and I am just happy to have some points as an advantage."
Lorenzo's Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies meanwhile said he was frustrated by his fifth-place finish, which he felt was not equal to his ultimate potential.
"It was a frustrating race, but I guess we have to be happy with a top five. We had a lot more potential but we did the best we could with the set up we had," he reported.
"We didn't have enough edge grip and acceleration so I had to sit behind [Andrea] Dovizioso and Cal [Crutchlow] and wait. I could see Cal was getting a little impatient and wanting to pass Dovi so I was hoping he would and maybe clear a spot for me to get by.
"I had a good pace but not enough to out-brake them so I had to play a waiting game."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Silverstone: Circuit of Wales is not viable
Qatar MotoGP: Marquez beats Rossi in action-packed race
Redding: I've got to 'do a Marquez'
Racing through injury: What Stroll can learn from past cases
Jorge Lorenzo joins Porsche Supercup grid for 2023
Why a MotoGP legend needs to ditch social media and enjoy retirement
Nicky Hayden: Remembering motorsport's much-loved "one-off" five years on
Morbidelli/Rossi relationship won’t change as MotoGP team-mates
Why Alex Marquez doesn't care about 'shutting up' MotoGP critics
F1 announces 24/7 streaming channel in the US
Schumacher confident Alpine can optimise WEC tyre warming procedures
Full-time IndyCar move “an option” says supersub Pourchaire
McLaren needs to understand puzzling “up and down” F1 form - Piastri
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing for the better
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments