Handlebar position could resolve Lorenzo forearm discomfort

Fiat Yamaha´s double 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo goes into round three of his debut MotoGP season hoping to maintain his excellent start to the year, with his team looking for a solution to the forearm problem which has caused him discomfort in his opening two 800cc races.

Fiat Yamaha´s double 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo goes into round three of his debut MotoGP season hoping to maintain his excellent start to the year, with his team looking for a solution to the forearm problem which has caused him discomfort in his opening two 800cc races.

Suffering from symptoms similar to the common `arm pump´ syndrome experienced by riders, caused by pressure build-up in the forearm muscles, Lorenzo appears only to be affected during races, rather than practice or testing – the rider having given 100% focus to the Qatar and Jerez contests which yielded second and third place finishes respectively, after pole position starts.

Ahead of the trip to Portugal Lorenzo visited the trusted specialist Dr Xavier Mir at Barcelona´s Clinica Dexeus last week, where it was decided surgery was not needed and the problem could be resolved with massage and stretching.

Lorenzo´s Crew Chief Ramon Forcada told motogp.com in Portugal that the team will make some small changes to the set-up of his M1 800cc prototype at Estoril, in an attempt to further alleviate the discomfort.

`It looks like it´s no big problem,´ said Forcada. `Last week he went to see a doctor in Barcelona to have a check-up and the muscle pressure is normal so maybe it is the tension from the races. We are making further checks, we will try some adjustments on the bike for this race, but it looks like no big problem.´

`We think it is just tension from racing, because it is not the same being alone on the track as braking when you have other riders around you. I think we will find a good solution for the problem by changing something on the bike. We can change the handlebar position and the handle grip and we will see what is best for him.´