Rossi and Lorenzo reflect on incredible battle

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were both aware that they had enjoyed a special duel at the Circuit de Catalunya.

With the 90,000 fans at Montmeló treated to an amazing MotoGP race on Sunday the two main protagonists were buzzing at the end of the 25 lap contest with World Champion Valentino Rossi breathless following his last corner triumph.

Having crossed the finishing line less than one tenth of a second in front of his Fiat Yamaha team-mate, Rossi exclaimed, “In Italian you would just say about that race, ‘Mama Mia!’. This battle with Lorenzo was very, very close. Our two bikes are set-up very well and we had the same pace so I knew we would get to the end of the race like that so it was fantastic.�

The Italian star continued, “It was a great race and we know that Lorenzo is very strong, so to try and beat him in the future we have to be at 100%. I’m so happy about today and my 99th GP win. It was so important to take this victory here in Barcelona, more than just the 25 points, because for me, for my team and for the crowd it is just fantastic, so I think the show was unbelievable.�

Lorenzo was humble and sporting in defeat, responding, “It’s not the same as a victory but second place is a fantastic result for us because it means we are maintaining consistent form, which we didn’t have last year. Being honest Valentino was braver than me and he overtook me in the last corner because I didn’t close the line enough and he won.�

The young Spaniard added, “I congratulate him for this win. I tried to be brave and where I saw gaps I went for it. Although we lost we know there are a lot of races until the end of the season.�

With the Yamaha colleagues tied in first position in a three-way fight with Casey Stoner, thoughts were already turning to the next installment of this intriguing 2009 title contest at the Dutch TT.

Rossi admitted he will need some rest before the next race, commenting, “We have to test on Monday, to work hard on the bike and then after I just need to relax. I have a bit of a problem with my neck so I need to stay at home, in my own bed, relaxing and waiting, so I can be ready with the batteries recharged for Assen.�

Perhaps ominously for the rest of the field, Lorenzo stated, “Assen is my favourite track so I look forward to going there, to hopefully putting in a good lap time in practice and then to race like this again.�