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The Spaniard is the unstoppable force that has yet to meet an immovable object. The 28-year-old, riding for Movistar Yamaha GP, scored his first win of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, after which he took wins at Le Mans and the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, where an injured Andrea Iannone had been on pole.
His teammate, Italian Valentino Rossi has joined him on the podium in each of those races, putting Movistar Yamaha GP at the top of the constructors’ standings with 141 points, 35 ahead of their nearest competitor, Ducati.
Rossi is currently on top of the drivers’ standings, with two wins this season, the first at the inaugural MotoGP race of the year at Losail in Qatar and the other at the Argentine MotoGP. Although he has fewer wins than Lorenzo, Rossi has been on the podium for every one of this year’s 6 races, putting him at the top of the table with 118 points.
Lorenzo, who started his season with 4th place finishes in Qatar and the MotoGP of the Americas in Austin and 5th in Argentina, has quickly caught his teammate up. He is currently in 2nd with 112 points, and poised to catch up with the Italian, with whom he has a long-standing rivalry.
Rossi, however, is the most successful driver at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, with a staggering 9 victories at the track across classes, and three other podiums. Although Rossi has done undeniably well in-race, his qualifying performances have been repeatedly weak – he started at 8th at the Italian MotoGP.
His compatriot, Andrea Iannone of Ducati won his career first pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, his home circuit, finishing the race in second despite persistent pain from what was later discovered to be a fractured humerus. Iannone, who has admitted that he still struggles with pain from the injury, nevertheless put forth one of the best performances of his career. He will want to capitalise on his good form, although he has had only two wins at the Circuit de Catalunya, neither of which are in the MotoGP category (1 x 125cc, 1 x Moto2). He has spoken repeatedly of not wanting to disappoint his team or the fans, and has been in recovery from his injury for the past two weeks.
Lorenzo and Rossi have had a long-standing rivalry since the beginning of their days at Fiat Yamaha, although both of them have said that their relationship has mellowed in recent years and become a stronger friendship, with a few remnants of their old rivalry.
Will Lorenzo be able to capitalise on his previous wins, as he so effectively did at Mugello despite Iannone being on pole? For now, he seems like a man on a mission, and there has not yet been an object Force Lorenzo cannot move.
