Lorenzo Upset with Australian Mistake, Apologizes to Hayden

The Spanish rider revealed he was very upset with himself for crashing right before the very first corner in the Australian GP and wanted to apologize to Nicky Hayden for ruining his race. However, the Spaniard believes that despite his crash he still wouldn’t have had realistic chances of winning the 2009 rider’s championship.

Lorenzo’s mistake in the very first lap at Phillip Island paved the way for Valentino Rossi to comfortably stretch his championship lead. But, after a season in which Lorenzo fell several times, failing to bring home any point, the Yamaha rider felt his chances of clinching the title were too small to begin with, so he saw no point in considering his Australian mistake a decisive one.

“I'm a little bit sad for this crash, not for the championship but for my mistake," said Lorenzo. "I didn't expect this kind of mistake from myself.”

"It was totally my fault, I miscalculated the distance off the line and Nicky braked earlier than I was expecting and I hit him. I thought I could save it but my front brake was broken and so when I tried to brake for the corner I couldn't and the rear made a big slide,” explained the Fiat Yamaha rider.

Lorenzo continued, apologizing to Hayden for unsettling the American’s race. “I want to say sorry to Nicky because I ruined his race today. The title was a long shot anyway and now I just want to look forward to the final two races.”

The Ducati rider, who managed to get back in the race after his collision with Jorge Lorenzo, managed to cross the line 15th.