Lorenzo: ‘I feel great at this circuit’

Looking to immediately put the nightmare of his first corner crash at Phillip Island out of his mind on the first day at Sepang Jorge Lorenzo got the penultimate round of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship off to a good start on Friday as he topped the timesheet ahead of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi.

Lorenzo was 0.064s ahead of second fastest participant Stoner, but was a more significant 0.684s gap in front of fourth placed Rossi, as he started the weekend - in which he attempts to prevent his Fiat Yamaha colleague from clinching the title – in good shape.

“I’m straight back on form, I’m comfortable on the bike and I feel great at this circuit right from the beginning,” stated an upbeat Lorenzo after the hour-long practice session. “Normally you have a bit of a doubt when you first arrive at a track but now I feel quick on the bike and my lap times were quite fast. It’s always good to start well on the first day.”

Contrasting the sweltering heat and humidity of the South East Asian venue with the conditions experienced last weekend at round 15, Lorenzo added, “Compared to Phillip Island the weather is the opposite. It was almost icy in Australia and now we have tropical weather so it is crucial to keep drinking water and energy drinks to be hydrated for the race.”

The talented Spanish youngster did add one note of concern however, as he revealed, “Unfortunately I have some pain in my finger where I hurt it on last weekend, it's not too bad but the cut is right on the knuckle, so it's a bit painful when I have to bend it to brake. Anyway, like I said on Sunday it could be a lot worse!.”