Jorge Lorenzo Finishes 7th

21-05-13

JORGE LORENZO FINISHES SEVENTH IN A RAINY RACE AT LE MANS
MOTO GP: Grand Prix at Le Mans
19 May at 2013

The HJC Helmets rider had many problems to stay in the leading group and despite his almost perfect start, he only managed to finish
in seventh position

His exchange of helmets with the Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, did not bring the best of luck to the rider from the Balearic Islands

Jorge Lorenzo did not display his best performance in a rainy Le Mans Grand Prix. This seventh position, worst result to date since his debut in 2008, apart from withdrawals and falls, making this a result to forget. In the morning, everything seemed under control thanks to his times in the Warm Up and the optimised adjustments of his Yamaha.

The start was clean and almost perfect for the HJC Helmets rider, maintaining his second position after a surprising Andrea Dovizioso and leaving his principal rivals -Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez- behind. It seemed like Jorge, in an intelligent and cautious manner would remain in a commendable second position on very cold and wet asphalt.

But after very few laps and some frights, everything went badly for the HJC Helmets rider. The pace of the Yamaha rider began to slow down surprisingly and the riders behind him easily took over. Lorenzo preferred to maintain his balance on the asphalt and finish the race rather than taking risks that could end in a fall, like what happened to this teammate Valentino Rossi.

This negative result leaves Jorge Lorenzo somewhat behind in the championship classification, with Dani Pedrosa in the lead with 17 points more than Jorge. A difference that the HJC Helmets will surely try to reduce in the next race, which will be in Mugello, Italy, next June 2nd.

Jorge Lorenzo stated: "In the beginning of the race the bike was not the same as warm up but not so bad and I could follow Andrea and Dani. I was losing a lot in some areas of the track but recovering in others. Then after three or four laps the bike got worse and I got problems everywhere. In the braking because in the middle of the corner I didn't trust the rear tyre and in acceleration because the rear was spinning so much I lost nearly half a second compared to the others. Races are like this sometimes; last year I won by 20 seconds with a very good bike and this year was completely the opposite. I couldn't do much more without crashing".

Bradley Smith immediately on the Moto GP pace!

Monday 25 February 2013

BRADLEY FIRED-UP FOR SECOND INSTALMENT
Bradley Smith returns to the Sepang track in Malaysia fired-up for the second MotoGP™ test of the season which starts on Tuesday. The 22 year old Oxfordshire rider had a very impressive first full MotoGP test at the 3.447 miles circuit on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of the month.

In three days of testing in hot humid conditions he finished a very impressive eighth fastest and was less than half a second slower than nine times World Champion Valentino Rossi. He returns on the 250 bhp Monster Tech 3 Yamaha with still a great deal to learn about riding the fast, complex machine on the Bridgestone tyres before that opening grand prix of the season in Qatar on April 7.

The Oxfordshire rider has stayed out in Malaysia between the tests and has kept fit with motocross, supermoto and cycle training in the heat. There will be one more test at Jerez in Spain after the three days in Sepang before that first race of the 18 round season.

Bradley Smith:
“Now the hard work starts to close the gap on those top riders even more. Of course I was pleased with that first test and thought it was a decent start by a rookie but I suppose I’ll show if I deserve the ride when I start mixing it with the likes of Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista. I’m having to re-learn how to ride a bike that is so incredibly fast. I feel I’m riding ten out of ten but I’m around the seven mark. I need to forget so much I learnt riding a Moto2 bike and trust the Yamaha and the Bridgestone tyres. Also the carbon brakes mean you brake so much later from a much higher speed. I can’t wait to get back out there and work with the Tech 3 team who were fantastic at the first test. I’ve kept very fit and really enjoyed the motocross, supermoto and cycling. Hopefully that hard work will pay off on Tuesday and for the next two days. Let’s hope the rain stays away and I can make the next big step in my MotoGP education.”

06-02-13

On only day two of testing for the new Moto GP season, Bradley Smith was 8th fastest, just half a second off experienced teammate Cal Crutchlow’s time!
This is the perfect start for the likeable 22 year old Oxford Products-backed star.

Follow his progress on facebook.com/OxfordProducts.