Aragon MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo sees crown slipping away

Jorge Lorenzo has admitted facing an almost impossible task to prevent Honda rival Casey Stoner from taking his MotoGP crown in 2011.

Lorenzo finished third at the end of a tough weekend for Yamaha’s factory squad at the Motorland Aragon, but Stoner’s crushing victory moved the Aussie into a commanding 44-point lead in the championship with just four races remaining.

Stoner rode another faultless race with Lorenzo finishing over 14 seconds adrift and the Spaniard said: “I think the surprise is to be only 44-points behind Casey because he has dominated the championship and he has won a lot of races.

“So to be that close to him is not so bad. Our only hope is that something happens. Hopefully not something bad for Casey but without this it is almost impossible.”

Lorenzo said one of the crucial factors in the 2011 title chase was the significant improvement in the performance of Honda’s RC212V machine.

The bike has won ten out of 14 races so far this season, which is only one less than HRC won in the previous four years.

Lorenzo said: “In the last part of last year the Honda took one step and it was very fast and competitive. This year they have taken another step at the beginning of the season. 

“We at Yamaha won three world titles in a row and the triple crown, so we stayed a bit calmer and don’t take so many risks. Honda hasn’t won so much and they have done a great job.”