A somewhat depleted
Fiat Yamaha Team lands on British shores this week,
with MotoGP World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo
the team's sole representative following Valentino
Rossi's injury at Mugello. Silverstone plays host
Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing for the first time
since 1986 and the riders and teams are looking
forward to getting their first look at the modified
track.
Lorenzo has had a stunning start to the season, with two
wins and two second places under his belt and a
championship lead of 25 points from Dani Pedrosa. The
23-year-old has a strong following in Great Britain,
having won there in 2006, and is keen to take his first
premier-class win on British soil after crashing out of
the lead at Donington last year. On Wednesday Lorenzo
will get a taste of a sport that is entirely alien to
him as a Spaniard when he meets the British media at
Lord's, the world-famous cricket ground in London.The
British fans adopted Rossi as one of their own when he
lived in London for several years and will be devastated
that the Italian will not be racing this weekend. They
will be cheered however by the news that he is
recovering well at his house in Italy after breaking his
leg at his home round and that he has confirmed that he
will be back racing just as soon as he is returned to
full fitness. The Fiat Yamaha Team will set his garage
up as usual and his two YZR-M1s will be there for the
fans to see.
Silverstone straddles the Northamptonshire and
Buckinghamshire borders and was first used for impromptu
car racing in 1947, when it was no more than a disused
airfield. It is most famous as the home of the British
Formula One Grand Prix, which was first held there in
1948 and has been contested at the track every year
since 1987. Silverstone is no stranger to bike racing,
with the 500cc machines having raced there from 1977 to
1986, but it has undergone extensive alterations in the
past year with remodeled sections and faster, sweeping
corners to tailor it to the 800cc MotoGP machines.
Jorge Lorenzo
"After Mugello we
arrive at Silverstone, a track that none of us know! I
will do some laps with the scooter on Thursday; I don't
always do this but I think it's very important because
so far I've only seen the track on the Play Station and
it's changed quite a lot. My aim is once again to get on
the podium, but I was disappointed after Mugello and I
want to do a better race in England. I am happy with my
lead in the standings but I want to keep improving and
this weekend we will try to find some more traction for
my M1. Last week I went to the Isle of Man to see the TT,
which was an incredible experience and I even rode a
lap, but quite slowly! On Wednesday I will go to Lord's
Cricket Ground for a press conference and it will be the
first time I've seen cricket, because we don't play in
Spain. I think it will be interesting to discover this
sport, and maybe even play! Finally I want to send again
my best wishes to Valentino, I am glad he is recovering
well and we will miss him in these busy weeks."
Wilco Zeelenberg
(Team Manager, Lorenzo)
"We've had a great
start to the season and it is exciting to be leading the
championship at this stage. Now we head to a new track
for MotoGP and personally I am looking forward to it as
I raced there myself when I was younger! The track has
been changed quite a bit but it looks like it's going to
be great for our bikes so we're looking forward to
Friday. Of course our team will miss Valentino but we
wish him all the best and look forward to having him
back as soon as possible."
