Lorenzo heads to Australia flying high

With a good record at Phillip Island and currently in great form Jorge Lorenzo goes into the Iveco Australian Grand Prix high on confidence, as he seeks to keep up the pressure on World Champion Valentino Rossi.

Indeed, Rossi’s off-colour performance at Estoril and Lorenzo’s dominance throughout a weekend which ended with the Spaniard’s fourth win of 2009 saw the points deficit reduced from 30 points to 18. That was a significant psychological victory, with three rounds remaining.

Lorenzo knows that Rossi loves Phillip Island and has enjoyed great success there down the years, but the younger Fiat Yamaha rider also has victories to his name in Australia from his 250cc title-winning seasons in 2006 and 2007. The man from Mallorca is also a big fan of ‘The Island’ and he managed to finish close to the podium in fourth position at the challenging Aussie circuit on his MotoGP debut last year.

“I am very happy after my fourth victory this year and now my target is to confirm second place in the championship in Australia,” said Lorenzo ahead of the fifteenth GP of the year. “This has been my aim all year and I will fight to get it as soon as possible.”

“Phillip Island is a track that I love, it’s always special to race there and in my opinion it’s the most beautiful circuit in the Championship, along with Mugello,” he added. “You are riding at 250 km/h but you can still see the sea and the birds, it’s incredible! Last year I couldn’t get the on the podium but I will always remember 2007, when I won with a 20 second gap.”

Noting the importance of the back-to-back Phillip Island and Sepang contests in the coming fortnight, the 22 year-old concluded, “All my team is confident and determined to get good results in these two important weeks.”