Yamaha aims to pressure Stoner
Yamaha team manager Wilco Zeelenberg says his squad is looking forward to giving chase to Casey Stoner and putting the Honda rider under pressure after Jorge Lorenzo lost his championship lead by crashing at Silverstone
Lorenzo had been clinging on to a narrowing points cushion as Stoner took a string of wins, but when the Spaniard fell in the wet British Grand Prix and the Australian went on to win, Stoner pulled 18 points clear in the standings.
Zeelenberg does not think this is a reason to be downcast, and believes Yamaha is still quick enough to fight back, despite Stoner having now taken four wins from six races in 2011.
"We are currently second in the championship which is not such a bad position; we will see if we can put some heat on the feet of Casey," said Zeelenberg.
"We made a mistake at Silverstone and now with 18 points deficit it's a different situation for Jorge compared to most of last season and this year where he's always been in front.
"When you lead you can't be better than that so we need to be on top of everything and I believe he is able to fight with Casey for victory. We were only two tenths behind the front in qualifying at Silverstone so we have proved that our package is getting better and better and closer to the front."
Lorenzo said he will not change anything now he is giving chase rather than defending a lead.
"Now we are in second position in the championship, we come here looking to put pressure on the leader," he said.
"I need to do the same job as I've done before with maximum effort. The team is focused and I wish to come back to finish at least on the podium."
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