Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was having a bad Sunday at the Catalan GP even before Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) crashed into him. Unhurt, Lorenzo was forced to leave his home race with zero points and watch as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) stepped to the top of the championship. Ten points now separate the reigning champion for the top of the table, a strong result at the Motul TT Assen will be critical to stop Marquez gaining too much momentum. Lorenzo needs to watch out for his teammate Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) as well, the Italian back to his best in Barcelona and always a threat in Assen.
"It’s a track I love but on the other hand I’ve experienced both good and bad results"Although he has a total of four wins at the Dutch track, 2010 in the MotoGP™ class his most recent; Lorenzo has suffered a lot of bad luck in recent years in the Netherlands. In 2014 he was 13th, in 2013 he broke his collarbone and raced to fifth, in 2012 he was taken out at the first corner and in 2011 another rider also took him out before Lorenzo remounted to take sixth. 2015 saw him shake the bad luck and return to the podium for the first time since he won in 2010. With rain threatening for much of the weekend, the weather could also throw in added challenges, as it did in 2014.
Jorge Lorenzo: “Barcelona was a great pity. I knew it was going to be a tough race especially after feeling that the tyres were struggling after five or six laps, but then the crash ruined everything. Now we need to forget the incident and try to fight again in Assen. Racing in Holland is always a kind of bittersweet feeling. It’s a track I love but on the other hand I’ve experienced both good and bad results. The layout is always good for our YZR-M1s so we are willing to have another go to get a great result again. I look forward to racing there!”