Two-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo is now just two points away from surpassing his teammate Valentino Rossi in this year's overall standings.
The Spaniard won his fourth straight MotoGP in Catalunya where he beat his fellow Yamaha rider in a mere second.
Last Sunday, Rossi gained an immediate disadvantage by qualifying on the third row. He lost one-second on the opening lap alone, while slicing the gap into half-a-second in one go on lap 19. However, it wasn't enough to recover from the time lost starting in the seventh which Rossi himself knows.
“There were one or two moments where I thought I could catch Jorge,” the Italian said. “I tried to make a calculation and I think I can arrive maybe on the last lap. But it was not enough. For him it was better like this. For me it was a shame because I think a battle could have been very hard and funny to watch.”
Rossi, who's been having slow starts in qualifying admitted, “Unfortunately when you have Jorge in this type of shape it is very difficult to win from the third row. When I arrive into second place I already had 1.5s [to Lorenzo] and it is very difficult to recover this disadvantage.
“So we have to concentrate on qualifying, try to start in the top five. Unfortunately it is not easy. This time I had the potential for a top five qualifying but I didn't ride well enough. The other problem is that in qualifying you have a lot of bikes that are fast for one lap [on the soft Open class tyre] and slower in the race. But Jorge has my bike and tyres and he is able to put some riders between me and him on the grid. So we have to work.”
In order to gain his 7th world championship title, the 36-year old can't afford to lose another race to Lorenzo.
“I have been in first position from the first race and it is important to resist,” the Urbino native added. “But now the difference is just one point, so to keep the lead it means I will have to arrive in front of Jorge and that is difficult.
“From the other side, I'm happy because this was an important race after three quite difficult races. Here was better because from Saturday morning I was really quite strong. This gives us good confidence.
“Now we will take a rest and go to Assen, a great track everybody loves, but different conditions. A lot of grip but especially the weather. You never know at Assen.”
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