Lorenzo believed in Mugello triumph
Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo revealed a strong showing in practice gave him the belief he could win Sunday's Grand Premio D'Italia at Mugello.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
The Spaniard finished ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and compatriot Andrea Dovizioso of Monster Yamaha to claim his fifth victory in nine rounds this season.
Lorenzo is also now 19 points ahead of second-placed Pedrosa in the overall standings and he admitted after the race he had a good feeling that he could emerge triumphant at Mugello from the start.
"From the beginning I felt great on this track," he said on the official MotoGP website. "The asphalt was completely different to Sachsenring [in the previous race] which was a nightmare for us.
"From the first practice here I felt very strong, very good on the bike and a fast constant pace. Today [Sunday] I was hammering a lot to open a gap at the beginning of the race as I thought my competitors would have problems on cold tyres."
"It's been a great win for the whole team's efforts and for Yamaha who have given me such a good bike."
Despite finishing third, Dovizioso revealed he was pleased with his display in front of his home crowd.
"To get a podium is always special but to do it in front of the Italian crowd and after such a strong battle makes it feel even better," he said.
"I want to say a big thanks again to my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew. We are working so well together and our results show it."
The season heads to America for the next two races, the US Grand Prix and the Indianapolis Grand Prix, which will be held in Laguna Seca and Indianapolis respectively.