British Grand Prix: Rare mistake costs Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo failed to finish a MotoGP race for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island in 2009 after a rare blunder cost him the world championship lead at Silverstone.

The factory Yamaha rider was looking to force his way by Repsol Honda rival Andrea Dovizioso when he high-sided at the first corner on lap nine.

Unable to continue with his YZR-M1 badly damaged, the reigning world champion slipped 18-points behind Casey Stoner in the title chase, with the Australian romping to a third straight success in torrential rain.

Spaniard Lorenzo said: “I had a good feeling in the rain and I was fast in the morning warm-up. But on the warm-up lap for the race I felt the bike wasn’t as stable on the wet patches compared to the Hondas, so in the race I was struggling a lot to follow them. 

“But little by little I found my real pace and I was convinced that if I could overtake Andrea I could catch Stoner. But maybe I had to wait a little longer and be more patient because the track conditions were really bad. But I was impatient and I entered too fast in this corner. Casey was starting to go away because I couldn’t pass Andrea who was not so quick.

“I tried to overtake him but I couldn’t then Stoner went away and I wanted to get ahead of Dovi. I feel disappointed because the crash was my own mistake. I think I could have fought for the victory with Casey. I wasn’t worried that (Marco) Simoncelli was catching me; I was worried because Casey was going if I didn’t overtake Andrea and then I crashed.”

For full coverage of the Silverstone MotoGP, see Wednesday’s issue of MCN.