Jorge Lorenzo completed the perfect weekend in Jerez, starting from pole to set a new Circuit Record on his way to victory. The Spaniard was fastest in nearly every session, apart from FP4 and Warm Up, and also set the fastest ever lap on a motorcycle around the 4.4 km Circuito de Jerez in Qualifying, recording a 1’37.910.

This made him the first person on two wheels to break the 1’38 barrier at the track, and he went on to set a new Circuit Record during the race as well, with a 1’38.735, which was over seven-tenths quicker than his previous record from 2013.

Lorenzo’s imperious ride during the race was even better when you consider that after his first lap, he never once dropped into the 1’41’s, a feat that no other rider could manage. In fact, Lorenzo didn’t drop into the 1’40’s until his 16th lap, while Marquez and Rossi could only hold out until their 12th and 13th laps respectively, as their tyre performance dropped.

It was the perfect riposte to the doubters, with many having written off the Spaniards title hopes after he had failed to take a podium in the first three races of the season for the first time in his MotoGP career. It seems as though the Circuito de Jerez has indeed once more become “Lorenzo Land”.

Marc Marquez rode through the pain with his broken finger today to secure only his second podium of the season, after his race win in Austin, although he refused to blame his performance on his injury.

Valentino Rossi had to settle for third, but became the first person to ever take 200 Grand Prix podiums in the process, admitting afterwards that he too had flashbacks from Argentina: “I had one moment in the race where I was not doing so bad and I was close to Marc. We hoped for another good fight until the end and I thought I could do it, because I got the gap down to one second, but had to give up.”

One thing is for sure, the way this season is going not many would bet against Rossi adding to this tally, and maybe, just maybe going onto take his tenth MotoGP title. Problem is, Marquez will not give up the Championship without a fight, plus Rossi now has the small matter of a resurgent Jorge Lorenzo to contend with.

Source: MotoGP