Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha team (left), winner of MotoGP Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar is congratulated by Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) President, at Losail International Circuit on Sunday. Valentino Rossi of Yamaha finished second, while Marc Marquez of Honda came third. PICTURE BY: SHAIVAL DALAL
Doha: A strong start was key to victory said Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha who celebrated his victory from pole position in the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar on Sunday.
Having started on pole, the World Champion pulled away from the charging field, at that point headed up by 2012 championship rival Dani Pedrosa.
As the Repsol Honda Team rider began to fight with the likes of Marc Márquez, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi, Lorenzo disappeared at the front.
“I’m really happy, really pleased and really proud of myself and the team,” the Yamaha Factory Racing rider told motogp.com.
“This weekend has been quite perfect, especially in the race as we were very strong from the beginning. I made a good start and I knew that and pushing over the first laps were key.
“I opened up two or three seconds of a gap which gave me the focus and allowed me to stay calm.”
“This is a perfect result for Yamaha and the team and I’m really happy for Valentino, who had had a very bad situation over the last two years. He has demonstrated again that he is a very quick and complete rider.”
Sunday night’s success marked the continuation of Lorenzo’s 100% podium record at Losail, having never finished off the rostrum in any class since the tracks’ debut in 2004. Lorenzo says Yamaha cannot afford any degree of complacency despite a perfect start to the season after he led team-mate Valentino Rossi home in Qatar.
While Rossi had to fight his way through to second, Lorenzo dominated from the outset, leading away from pole and extending his advantage every lap. His eventual winning margin was 5.9 seconds. Lorenzo insisted he had to ride at his extreme limit in order to first establish a gap over 2012 title rival Pedrosa and the chasing pack, an effort he feels indicates Yamaha still has work to do and pace to find.
“To start the season in this way is fantastic. I wanted to get away at the start but I knew it would be difficult because the other riders were very strong, so I had to push at more than 100 per cent for just a few tenths each lap.
“Once I got a few seconds it was a bit easier and it started to be four or five tenths, which gave me the confidence to stay calm and focussed, and that’s when a rider is at their best.
“We have to celebrate the result, but we (can’t) be too calm because we know we have things to improve on the bike.
“The next race (at Austin) will be hard for us as we saw in pre-season, and in different circumstances, different weather, anything is possible. We will have a lot of work.”Agencies
