“Today we are leaving for Qatar for the last Winter test. I think that it is important that we are there,” said Lorenzo, stressing the importance of the Qatar test for his 2010 MotoGP season preparation.
“The fracture happened less than five weeks ago, but we could not have missed this last test because it would have been negative for our preparation; we are not far from the first race of the season! The doctor has made a special carbon fibre protection and Dainese have modified my glove, in order to further protect the fracture, so we will see how we get on.”
So far, the former 250cc champion only managed to do one test with his new Yamaha bike (2 days), in late January. Following his injury, that led to a medical intervention to his right hand, his presence in Qatar was also in doubt, as the doctors' initial forecast was a 6-week period off a MotoGP bike.
The need for a testing return was obvious in recent weeks, after his teammate Valentino Rossi confirmed his great pace on the Yamaha bike during the latest Sepang test, in which he topped the time charts during all sessions. In fact, the reigning MotoGP champion is yet to be defeated in a testing session this year, with Casey Stoner most of the time resting in 2nd place.
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