Heading into Silverstone with seven rounds remaining in 2013, Lorenzo sits third in the championship and 44 points behind leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). The current World Champion is yet to win since the Catalan GP 11 weeks ago.
“At this track, when you lose rear grip it is very difficult to keep doing the same lap times, so I think the secret this weekend is to set up the bike to be constant in terms of lap time performance,” Lorenzo told motogp.com after Friday practice.
When asked if he can challenge for the top spot this weekend, Lorenzo replied:
“I hope so. I hope and I believe. You always have to believe and always think that you can do it. The reality will show what will happen, but my motivation and my belief is that we can win this time.”
Valentino Rossi is yet to win the British Grand Prix since mastering the wet conditions at Donington Park in 2005, but thoroughly enjoyed Friday as this marked his first Silverstone outing on a Yamaha (the Italian missed the return to Silverstone in 2010, having broken his leg at Mugello).
“The feeling is good,” Rossi reported. “I enjoyed it a lot today. This track is great. If you are able to ride on the limit and have a good feeling with the bike, it is very fun because it is very fast, the average speed is so high, the track is very wide and you are on full throttle for much of the time.
“I am quite happy with the first day, especially because over the last two years I have suffered a lot here at Silverstone. Anyway, we are still working on trying to find a good setup to find a good balance for the race.”
In terms of the Teams’ championship heading into this weekend’s race, Yamaha Factory Racing sits second and 88 points behind Repsol Honda Team, whereas for Constructors’ honours Honda is presently leading Yamaha by 31 points.
Source: http://www.motogp.com