Lorenzo aims to break Pedrosa’s German grip

Saturday, 13 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BERLIN (AFP): Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo is hoping to challenge Dani Pedrosa’s three-year winning streak at the German MotoGP in the wake of the Spaniard’s heroics at the Netherlands MotoGP.

Lorenzo, 26, second in the overall standings, produced a superb effort at Assen a fortnight ago to finish fifth, just 36 hours after surgery on a broken collarbone following a crash in practice. The reigning world champion is just nine points behind Honda’s Pedrosa in the standings, but having won four of the last six races on the German track, current world leader Pedrosa starts as favourite. Lorenzo has yet to win at Sachsenring and will find the anti-clockwise circuit a challenge for his recently injured shoulder, but the Mallorcan is determined to give his all. “Sachsenring is going to be a little tough for me after the crash at Assen,” he said. “It is true in Holland we achieved a stunning result, but I have to be realistic and I have still a long way to go to recover my collarbone. “I made a huge effort to race at Assen and finally I could manage a really difficult weekend. “The situation is still that I need more time to fix the injury though. “I won’t be at 100 percent in Germany, but I’m pretty confident I can make a good weekend. “At least I have had almost ten days to stay calm and improve a bit my physical condition. “It will be difficult to compete another time but for sure I will push even harder than in Holland. “The track is not one of my favourite tracks in the championship but at this level I don’t mind where we race.” The Sachsenring circuit, near Chemnitz, eastern Germany, has witnessed numerous victories for Lorenzo’s Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi. The nine-time champion enjoyed the last of his four four MotoGP victories at the circuit in 2009. “I’m going to Sachsenring with a new spirit,” said the 34-year-old, who is fifth in the standings. “I am very happy after the Holland race, now I want to keep it going like that. “We also want to confirm at Sachsenring the step we’ve made with the bike. “I really like Sachsenring and then there will be the (USA MotoGP) in Laguna Seca. These will be two very important weekends.”