Chance to put right Barcelona wrongs for Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo’s 2009 campaign has so far been a much smoother ride than his debut MotoGP season last year and the Fiat Yamaha rider will hope that pattern continues at this weekend’s Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.

Sitting in second place in the general standings with two victories already this season the Spanish star is looking for a strong result in Sunday’s contest, to maintain or improve on his championship position, having missed out on his home race last year - due to concussion sustained in a Friday practice crash.

The flamboyant rider from Mallorca has just a four point deficit to standings leader Casey Stoner and the Catalunya track would be an ideal venue to retake the championship advantage.

Lorenzo lived in Barcelona for much of his early career and after a brief period staying in London last year he has now returned to live in the stunning Mediterranean city.

Having won there previously in the 250cc class he is determined to use this weekend to put the memories of last year’s nightmare home GP and this year’s crash in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez firmly behind him.

The 22 year-old commented, “I’ve had a great season so far but it hasn’t all been perfect and I made a big mistake in Jerez when I tried to pass Stoner, so hopefully I can do better for my home fans this time! After Mugello and Le Mans we know that anything can happen and you just have to keep calm and focused.”

“This is the closest MotoGP circuit place to Mallorca and one of my favourite tracks. I’ve always been fast there, right back to when I went there for the first time when I was in 125s and got my first second row start. My main aim this time is to have a better weekend than last year and to completely forget what happened. I improved on last year in Mugello so hopefully I can do the same again in Barcelona.”

In a similarly upbeat mood ahead of an important weekend, Lorenzo’s team manager Daniele Romagnoli also commented, “Going to Barcelona, Jorge’s home race, lying second in the championship is absolutely brilliant and it gives us great motivation; we are feeling very strong right now after two good results in a row. This year the championship is very close and we need to be consistently on the podium in order to stay in touch. We’ve done very well in the last two races in the strange weather conditions but I think everyone would prefer a ‘normal’ race this time so let’s hope for some Spanish sunshine.”