With its result at the Jerez race on 29 April, Yamaha Tech3 confirms its remarkable competitiveness in MotoGP.
For the second round of the Championship, its two riders clinched exactly the same places as in Qatar, two weeks ago: Cal Crutchlow came 4th and Andrea Dovizioso 5th, on a relatively dry track. Hervé Poncharal's team, supported by Motul, is again the first of the private teams, just behind the Yamaha and Honda factory teams, Casey Stoner taking the win this time in the overall standings.
Andrea Dovizioso fought at the beginning of the race for the top three, but his choice of too soft a front tyre led him to drop back behind his team-mate. 'It was a trap weekend because I'm not too fond of this track and I'm not quite at ease on the M1, he acknowledged. (…) Following Cal was interesting because he is still much faster than me at the entrance to turns. I must adapt my style to progress in this field, which is one of the Yamaha's strong points.'
Meanwhile, Cal Crutchlow took advantage of his choice of a hard tyre at the front and reached Dani Pedrosa, forcing a fast pace on him. After the arrival, Cal commented: 'The race was hard but I took great pleasure and I'm very pleased to finish so close to the podium. (…) I was already fourth in Qatar but this time I had the winner in sight, so there's no reason why I shouldn't fight for the podium (…). I did my utmost to pass Dani but there was nothing I could do. He is phenomenal on this track.' The Brit clinched the lap record, ahead of all the factory teams.
On, 6 May, riders and teams will be back together at the Estoril circuit in Portugal.
Standings
01// Jorge Lorenzo - Yamaha - 45 pts
02// Casey Stoner - Honda - 41 pts
02// Dani Pedrosa - Honda - 36 pts
04// Cal Crutchlow - Yamaha Tech3 - 26 pts - Motul
05// Andrea Dovizioso - Yamaha Tech3 - 22 pts - Motul
Image : © Stan Perec
