FIAT YAMAHA'S Jorge Lorenzo has said that his double ankle injury is still
plaguing him and he won’t be fully fit for Mugello’s round of the MotoGP this
weekend.
Equal second din the championship with Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo’s tally of 94
points is the highest ever score after five races by a rookie and whatever the
result in Italy the 21-year-old plans to make more history as the youngest
rider ever to reach the milestone of 100 Grand Prix starts.
Lorenzo has a strong record at Mugello, having gone from his debut 250cc
pole to second place in 2005 before taking victory from pole in 2006. However,
last year he started from 20th place following a rain-affected qualifying
session and then slid out of the lead on the final lap, re-mounting to finish
eighth.
He said: “I have to be really grateful for the fact that I have recovered so
quickly from my injuries and to have had such great professionals making
sure that was the case. Obviously we’re still not going to be at 100% for
Mugello but with every race that passes I’m able to put more weight on the
footrests. I’m going to Italy with high hopes because it is one of my favourite
circuits, with lots of fast and flowing corners. We have some favourable tracks
coming up but we can’t rely too much on that because in sport, and especially
in motorcycle racing, you never know what can happen. This is a special race
for me because it will be my hundredth appearance in the World Championship.
It has all gone really fast and if I ever make it to 200 then I hope it goes
just as fast – that would mean I’m having just as much fun as I have up to
now and hopefully I’ll have helped the fans enjoy it too!”
