Lorenzo wants one better

Jorge Lorenzo hopes to give his home fans something to cheer about at the Catalan Grand Prix this weekend as he seeks to put the disappointment of last year's race behind him.

The Mallorcan engaged in a titanic battle with Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya as the pair repeatedly traded first and second place.

With the action becoming even more frenetic on the final lap, Lorenzo appeared destined to take the chequered flag in first place before Rossi darted past him at the very last corner.

There will be no repeat of the duel this year, of course, as reigning world champion Rossi is currently sidelined after suffering a broken leg in practice for the Italian Grand Prix last month.

His enforced absence has left Lorenzo the favourite for this year's title and he currently leads fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa by 47 points in the standings.

With Rossi set to miss at least three more races, the pressure is on Lorenzo to keep the title at Yamaha, but he is confident he can step up.

The 23-year-old, who recently won the British Grand Prix and Dutch TT in the space of a week, said: "Montmelo is a very special track for me, it is the closest to Mallorca and I can feel the people supporting me.

"Last year I lost at the final corner but now I will try to come back to the podium to celebrate with all my fans.

"We have a big gap in the standings and it gives us confidence and allows us to be calm, but the team will be working at the same level, I am sure.

"We still have 12 more races, double what we've already had. We should enjoy Montmelo and then, after these three consecutive races, we have earned a little break - a week for a rest."

Excited

This weekend will also see the first appearance of 41-year-old Japanese test rider Wataru Yoshikawa, who is filling in as Rossi's replacement for the next three races.

Yoshikawa said: "I'm excited about riding the (Yamaha) M1 in Spain this week, even if I'm very sorry for Valentino's injury.

"I have only ridden in a MotoGP race once, at Motegi in 2002, and this is the first time I have ridden at the Montmelo track.

"We can see from the team's results this season that Yamaha did a good job with the winter development of the M1 and I am sure that these few races I will contest now will be extremely helpful for the future development of our bike."