Lorenzo: title battle now transformed

Jorge Lorenzo says the 2013 MotoGP title fight is totally different following Marc Marquez’s Phillip Island disqualification, but that it is still largely out of his hands.

Marquez came to Australia on the brink of clinching the championship in his rookie year, having built a 43-point lead.

But his disqualification for ignoring the mandatory pit window instituted following tyre concerns in practice meant that Lorenzo’s victory brought the gap down to 18 points with 50 still available from the remaining two rounds in Japan and Spain.

“We’ve been very lucky, because without that mistake from Marc, he would have been in first or second place, because he was very strong – as always,” said Lorenzo.

“Now the championship has changed so much.

“Before the race we almost didn’t have a chance, maybe two or three per cent maximum. Now it’s more like 20 per cent or 30.”

Although Lorenzo is now much closer, the title fight will still be settled if Marquez outscores him by eight points at Motegi this weekend.

That means the Yamaha man must finish second if Marquez wins.

Lorenzo admitted all he can do was push to dominate and hope Marquez ran into more trouble.

“Marc is very competitive on all the tracks so if he stays in second place or even third place he can win the championship,” said last year’s title winner.

“We have to try to win at Motegi and Valencia and see what can happen.

“To hope for perfect conditions, push every lap to the limit and wait for something to happen is all we can do.”

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