“Simoncelli needs to learn” claims Lorenzo
Added on Monday, June 27th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
“Simoncelli needs to learn” claims Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo has slammed the riding style of Marco Simoncelli after he was taken out by the Italian at Assen, with the defending champion claiming that the Gresini rider needs to “learn his lesson”.
Starting from pole, Simoncelli slid off the track on the opening laps at a damp Assen, taking the pursuing Lorenzo with him. Both riders did rejoin the action, with Lorenzo working his way to sixth position and Simoncelli eventually finishing in ninth.
Lorenzo has become the latest rider to criticise the Gresini Honda rider, who was reprimanded for “dangerous riding” following a crash at Le Mans back in May – a crash which left Dani Pedrosa with a broken collarbone.
And Lorenzo believes that Simoncelli needs to learn to ride within his limitations and the limitations of the tyres.
“Of course Simoncelli doesn’t want to throw me off the track, that wasn’t his intention but I think he is not very conscious about the risks in this class with these tyres,” he claimed. “I thought he learnt from the past and the polemic he created with Dani [Pedrosa] but it’s clear he hasn’t learnt.
“The good thing is that we finished in sixth and took some points. I was fast with a good pace. The championship is now more difficult so we have to go all out to win races and go fast. We are making changes to the bike that are making it better with stability to brake harder and deeper so I think we can go to Mugello and be more competitive like Ben demonstrated today.”
Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg was equally frustrated with Simoncelli, adding: “We are very disappointed by the action with Simoncelli. It was a racing accident but pretty stupid.”
