Jorge Lorenzo powers to a spectacular victory at the Red Bull Ring

Jorge Lorenzo scored a splendid victory in the Austrian Grand Prix, round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship, which was held today at the Red Bull Ring circuit near Zeltweg in Styria. The rider from Mallorca, who started from the front row of the grid following yesterday’s third place in qualifying, opted to begin the race with ‘soft’ tyres both front and rear, and after leading over the line at the end of the opening lap, he was then passed by Marquez, whom he followed until lap 18 together with Dovizioso. After taking back the lead of the race on the next lap, Jorge battled it out with the Honda rider until the end, crossing the line with an advantage of just 130 thousandths of a second. Thanks to today’s win, Jorge Lorenzo moves into third place in the Riders’ standings with 130 points, followed by his team-mate Dovizioso (129 points). Ducati also took its third successive win at the Red Bull Ring since MotoGP returned to the Austrian circuit (2016 Iannone, 2017 Dovizioso and  2018 Lorenzo).

The next round of the championship will be the British Grand Prix, scheduled for the Silverstone circuit from 24th to 26th August.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1st
“It was an incredible race, maybe one of the best of my career, quite simply spectacular! Winning with Ducati on this circuit, where I had never won before, after a close quarters battle with Marquez, has a really special taste. Before the race I had thought about which strategy to use, and I decided to do like Brno, administering the tyre wear well and then attacking in the final part of the race, especially because I was one of the few riders who had chosen ‘soft’ tyres and my riding style allowed me to conserve them until the end. When I found myself fighting against Marquez I knew that it was going to be difficult to pass him, so I decided to improvise by making the best use of the Desmosedici GP’s acceleration and it worked perfectly. Now we’re third in the championship standings, but above all I’m proud and very pleased with the way we’re working because the feeling with the bike is better and better all the time and I believe we can fight for the win in many other races. Now let’s just enjoy this moment with all the team and I’m also very happy for them.”