MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 5/MAY 18, 2014
CIRCUIT BUGATTI/LE MANS, FRANCE
P44
Galbusera. Rossi said before the
year that he wanted to see if he
could still enjoy racing and still be
competitive. The answer to both
is: Yes.
Another is the weakness of Lo-
renzo.
The two-time MotoGP World
Champion was intermittently
fast in practice, but had another
troubled race after a poor start
left him eighth at the end of lap
one. He was up to sixth by the
end, after passing fast starters
LCR Honda's Stefan Bradl and
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, both
fading by the end.
But he could make no real im-
pression on the race, and when
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa –
recuperating from arm-pump sur-
gery – attacked towards the end
he had no answer.
"It was another race when I
couldn't demonstrate our poten-
tial," Lorenzo said, putting most
of the blame on a poor start. He
is used to getting away at or very
near the front. "To start sixth or
seventh is not the same, and I
struggle to be smooth. In general
I didn't ride well. I am riding well
everywhere… until the race."
Rossi had suggested Loren-
zo was over-anxious to win and
would do better to try to enjoy the
bike.
"I don't think so," Lorenzo
said. "We knew from Austin that
the championship was impos-
sible. It is easy to criticize when
somebody is having problems…
we have to wait for our moment."
Other surprises were for
this race alone: especially the
strength of class rookie Pol Es-
pargaro on the Monster Tech 3
Yamaha, who held second for
the early part of the race, and
was (apart from Marquez) beaten
only by veteran Go&Fun Honda's
Alvaro Bautista, managing to fend
off Pedrosa over the line.
And a nasty surprise for Drive
M7 Honda's Nicky Hayden, who
made two corners before being
punted off by a headstrong Andrea
Iannone on the Pramac Ducati,
who fell off himself before com-
pleting lap two, shortly after Avintia
rider Hector Barbera did likewise.
"I'd got probably my best start
Jorge Lorenzo (99) had another
bad race, the Spaniard unable
to hold back the advances
of countryman Pedrosa (26).
Lorenzo ended up sixth.
