Lorenzo wins hot Catalan grand prix, calls for more durable Bridgestones

Jorge Lorenzo took his Yamaha to a second successive MotoGP victory on Sunday, as tyre management came into play in sweltering conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya. Several riders crashed out as a result of reduced front-end grip, and Lorenzo spoke of the challenge provided by the conditions: “Today was the hottest race this year and physically it was very hard.” He later suggested to Autosport.com that the front tyre may have been “too soft”, while adding that the riders were requesting harder compounds from tyre supplier, Bridgestone. Shinji Aoki, manager of Bridgestone Motorsport’s Tyre Development Department, pointed out that all works riders had chosen to use the softer rear slick, which he said had performed well given the harsh conditions.

Lorenzo led into the first corner after a good start, holding off championship leader Dani Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda. Lorenzo took the chequered flag 1.763 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, while Pedrosa’s teammate Marc Marquez claimed the third step on the podium by crossing the finish line less than a tenth of a second behind his teammate in third place. At his home circuit, Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was the highest-placed CRT rider, finishing in eighth position for the second consecutive race.

Track temperatures during the race hit 57°C, reducing grip levels. The majority of riders selected softer rear slicks to have the maximum amount of grip from the edge of the tyre for the many long corners at this circuit. Front tyre choice was almost constant across the grid, with only one rider selecting the soft option, medium compound front slick. The harder front slick provided greater stability under braking and cornering, though at a slight expense of grip from the edge of the tyre when the rider is at their maximum lean angle.

Lorenzo’s victory and corresponding twenty-five points means he now sits just seven points behind Pedrosa in the MotoGP championship standings, while Marquez is thirteen points behind Lorenzo and third overall.

Shinji Aoki said: “Conditions today were the hottest on race day so far this year which made the track quite greasy and a challenge for the riders. The heat made tyre management even more important; first of all managing the front-end load on the slippery track surface with a full tank of fuel in the early laps, and then managing tyre wear – particularly at the rear – in the later stages. Even though it was so hot, none of the works riders selected the harder rear option for the race as they wanted the better edge grip of the softer option. Considering we had such extremely severe conditions for tyres, the softer rear slick performed well today.”

Lorenzo concluded: “I made a better start than I expected and was able to pass Cal and Dani, and after that I just tried to keep my rhythm. For most of the race Dani was always there behind me, but in the last five laps I managed to pull a small gap. It was a special race in front of my home crowd.”