Lorenzo conserves engine on first day in San Marino
Yamaha Misano Day 1
Friday, 14 September 2012
Grey skies and a damp track made a washout of today’s first practice sessions for the Grand Prix of San Marino with only a few riders taking to the track.

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies covered just six laps in the morning session and four in the afternoon. The Texan’s efforts were simply to test the track conditions as no valuable data could be gained for Sunday’s race, which is forecast for sunshine.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo decided to stay inside today, conserving valuable kilometres of engine life and again wisely choosing to avoid any unnecessary risks to gain little valuable set up data. An otherwise dull day was brightened by not just one but two MotoGP legends from Yamaha’s racing past arriving in the garage to chat with the riders. 15 time World Championship winner Giacomo Agostini was the first to appear, soon followed by Yamaha’s first ever world title holder Phil Read.

Ben Spies

"We didn’t really get anything from the few laps we did, it’s been pretty much a waste of a day for everybody. We can’t control the weather and unfortunately it was just too mixed conditions to do anything. We did a couple of laps to check everything was ok just in case qualifying is like that so we have a feeling for it. Other than that we just sat around, drank coffee and watched everybody!"

Jorge Lorenzo

"I’m so tired, we did so many laps today and now I need a big rest and a massage! Seriously though, we didn’t even go out, it just wasn’t necessary for us, we wanted to save the engine life and also save some energy. Tomorrow we will see what happens with the weather. Today was not completely wet or completely dry so useless."

Press release courtesy of Yamaha Factory Racing.

Lorenzo aiming to extend lead at Misano
Yamaha Factory misano gp preview
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies return to Italy this week for the Grand Prix of San Marino at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

After a successful two-day test in Aragón last week the riders are relaxed and positive about their chances this weekend. Championship leader Lorenzo arrives with a 13 point gap to closest rival Dani Pedrosa at a circuit which witnessed a faultless victory for him last year and three prior consecutive second place podium finishes preceding that.

Teammate Spies has always performed for the crowd at the Misano circuit, taking two sixth place finishes after multiple overtakes in both 2010 and 2011. The Texan also has a World Superbike victory under his belt here from his 2009 Championship winning season.

Jorge Lorenzo

“We arrive at Misano now which is a track I like very much, we had a great victory here last year and many podium finishes. We are still leading the Championship so we must work hard this weekend to keep it and if possible to increase it. We will aim for the podium and if it is possible, the victory.”

Ben Spies

“Misano is a track I really enjoy riding, I’ve had some great races here. I think if we’d had a couple more laps last year then I could have maybe been past Andrea and Marco. It’s been an unbelievable year but we’ll give it 100% as always this weekend and fingers crossed it’ll be trouble free and we can show our true potential.”

Press release courtesy of Yamaha Factory Racing.