After some more difficult races, Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) came back with a bang in Austria, as the 5-time world champion came from the second row of the grid to challenge for the lead at the Red Bull Ring – including a spectacular double overtake – and was able to finish the race much closer to the Desmosedicis than expected. With title rivals teammate Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez finishing the race in P4 and P5 respectively, Lorenzo’s ride under intense pressure made him the only man in Austria to gain points in the top echelons of the title fight – and proved a good springboard for Brno as MotoGP™ returns to the scene of a dominant win for number 99 in 2015.
Jorge Lorenzo (P3): “It was a very important race and podium. It’s been a black period with not so many points and a bad feeling. But finally a good weekend. Good qualifying, and a very good race. At the beginning Iannone wasn’t as fast as I expected but then instead of going slower he got faster and faster, even on the softer tyre! So that was a surprise but in the end we weren’t as far from the Ducati as we expected so that’s a good signal because this track was perfect for them.”