Photography by Gold & Goose
Jorge Lorenzo had a strong Friday leading both MotoGP practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez. Lorenzo, who ended speculation and confirmed Friday to be staying with MoviStar Yamaha through 2016, looked comfortable and fast all day. It had to be an uplifting occasion for the Yamaha ace, who has struggled so far this season, has played second fiddle to his teammate Valentino Rossi and comes into Jerez ranked fourth in the world championship standings. Lorenzo ended the day racing to a time of 1:39.300 to lead FP2. That was a little over a tenth of a second ahead of Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez (1:39.428), who seemed back to his normal blazingly fast self after suffering a broken finger six days ago. Ducati’s Andrea Iannone was third with a 1:39.511.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the fact that series leader Rossi was all the way down in P13 in the second practice session. It appeared Rossi was focusing almost solely on race setup on Friday.
American Nicky Hayden was 19th in FP2 with a 1:40.819 on his Aspar Honda.
On Saturday reigning World Champion Marc Marquez broke a finger in a training accident. The Repsol Honda rider was operated on the same day to treat a fracture to the little finger of his left hand, suffered while training dirt track. On Thursday he was cleared by medical staff to race and today he showed little sign of the injury.
Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis confirms that Jorge Lorenzo will stay with Yamaha for the remainder of his contract, which runs through the 2016 season.
MotoGP Day One Combined Results From Jerez, May 1, 2015
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1:39.300
2. Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) 1:39.223
3. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1:39.428
4. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1:39.511
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1:39.535
6. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati) 1:39.718
7. Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 1:39.737
8. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1:39.871
9. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:39.872
10. Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) 1:39.909
