At the start of the MotoGP season, Valentino Rossi didn't expect his biggest competition to be coming from his Fiat Yamaha Teammate, Jorge Lorenzo. But Lorenzo has proven that not only can he compete with the reigning world champion, he can also win. Lorenzo has won the last two MotoGP races, and finished second in the opening round, giving him a nine point lead over the reigning champ. Rossi, who has finished on every level of the podium so far, is 19 points ahead of third place Andrea Dovizioso.
“Nine points is better as an advantage than as a disadvantage, but I'm not a lot behind and the championship is so long,” said Ross. “What I didn't expect is to be fighting just with Jorge. After the winter I expected Stoner and maybe also Dani (Pedrosa) - but especially Stoner - to be more close. Now it is like another Yamaha fight.”
Stoner has shown some speed so far at the MotoGP, but the Ducati rider has also taken two falls.
“I think for this championship it's important not to crash and to finish all the races,” said Lorenzo. “Casey is so fast, is so aggressive, but he's crashed two times in three races and for sure he will need to win a lot of races to recover the points."
Stoner is currently in 13th, 59 points behind Lorenzo.
