Lorenzo annihilates Jerez circuit record in Spanish Grand Prix victory

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo underlined his dominance this weekend at Jerez by speeding to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, setting a new Circuit Record Lap time on his way to the checkered flag.
 
Lorenzo started from pole position and set an impressive pace throughout the twenty-seven lap contest, smashing the existing race lap record by eight-tenths of a second on lap two and setting an overall race time twenty seconds quicker than the old record as he crossed the finish line. Finishing in second place 5.576 seconds behind Lorenzo was Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez who despite nursing a broken finger on his left hand was able to resist a late charge from Valentino Rossi who ultimately took third place for his two-hundredth Grand Prix podium across all classes.
 
Yesterday’s clear and sunny conditions gave way to long periods of cloudy skies today and as a result, today’s peak track temperature of 40°C was fourteen degrees lower than yesterday’s high. The cooler temperatures didn’t have a large influence on race tire choice, with twenty-three riders selecting the hard compound front slick – only Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales opted for the medium compound front slick. The medium compound rear slick was the most popular race choice with thirteen riders selecting this option, while eleven riders chose the soft compound rear slick. Only one rider selected the hard compound rear slick. The revised tire allocation for this year’s Spanish Grand Prix brought with it a big boost in performance, with six riders able to lap under the previous race lap record.  
 
Lorenzo’s first win of the season moves him into third place on the MotoGP points table, twenty points behind teammate Rossi who maintains his lead in the standings. Despite finishing in ninth place, Andrea Dovizoso still holds onto second place in the standings, the Ducati Team rider sits fifteen points behind Rossi after four rounds.
 
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“At a circuit where the final corner is named after him, Jorge certainly had the final say at Jerez with a dominant victory in front of the passionate Spanish fans. Congratulations to both Jorge and to Yamaha, who scored an impressive double podium. This weekend at Jerez we had the largest crowd we’ve had at a Grand Prix in many years, with over 120,000 fans in attendance just on race day. With three different winners from the first four races, I hope to see another large crowd at Le Mans in a couple of weeks’ time as the fight for the championship is already starting to become very interesting.”
 
Shinji Aoki - Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport tire Development Department
“After scorching conditions on Friday and Saturday, today was significantly cooler which resulted in the riders being able to extract even more performance from their tires. Many riders were able to lap quicker than the existing race lap record and Jorge’s overall race time was twenty-seven seconds quicker than last year and twenty-seconds quicker than the overall record time. We leave Jerez with new qualifying and race lap records, and a new overall race record time on a circuit that is offering less grip each year, so it was a great weekend for Bridgestone. Now our efforts focus on tomorrow’s post-race test at Jerez before we head to Le Mans.”
 
Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Race Winner
“The fact that I could make a lap time of 1’38.7 at the beginning of the race was quite impressive. Today I felt really good, especially under braking which is what I sometimes struggle with on Sunday but this time, the whole weekend has been perfect. With the bike working so well everywhere, I was able to profit from my speed and talent, and to take a win at Jerez is really special.”