Victorious Lorenzo grateful to Yamaha
Jorge Lorenzo has thanked Yamaha for promoting him straight from the 250cc series to their factory MotoGP team, after taking his first top level victory at Estoril
The Spaniard, who stepped up to MotoGP with Fiat Yamaha this year as a double 250cc champion, qualified on pole for his first three MotoGP starts and achieved his maiden win in Portugal today.
"First of all I want to thank Yamaha for their confidence in me, and to all my sponsors, because without them I wouldn't be here," said the delighted 20-year-old.
Yamaha's racing boss Lin Jarvis said the team felt fully justified in their decision to commit to Lorenzo during the early part of 2007.
"It was an early decision which we took more than a year ago," Jarvis told the BBC.
"But you've seen the start of his year has been phenomenal: he's got three pole positions and a win, and he's leading the championship at the moment, which is pretty astonishing for a rookie."
Lorenzo said he was so delighted by his victory that he had little memory of the race itself.
"It's fantastic, it's a sensation that I can't describe," he said.
"The start was a little bit crazy because of the rain, there was a bit of water (on the track). Then I don't remember it."
He took the lead with a determined move on teammate Valentino Rossi at the chicane just before half-distance.
"There was some risk, but it was time to pass him because I thought I could get away and I had to get him," said Lorenzo.
Foyt changes IndyCar number amid "symbolic references" debacle
AJ Foyt Racing has changed the number of Benjamin Pedersen's 2023 IndyCar entry from #88 to #55, after finding its two cars' numbers held "certain ideological and symbolic references".
Taylor: Reset button will be "worn out" but better than limp mode in Daytona 24
Ricky Taylor has zero worries over the pace of the new Acura ARX-06, but believes the new GTP cars will encounter several sensor issues over the course of the Daytona 24 Hours.
WEC assessing Sebring alternative for US round from 2024
The World Endurance Championship has admitted that it is examining alternatives to Sebring for the US round of the series from 2024.
Wehrlein hails "perfect" Porsche strategy, efficiency en route to Diriyah FE win
Pascal Wehrlein reckoned that Porsche's Diriyah E-Prix strategy and efficiency worked "perfectly" en route to claiming his second Formula E victory.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
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.