Jorge Lorenzo kept his slim world title hopes alive after he finished one place in front of main championship rival Casey Stoner in a gripping Japanese Grand Prix yesterday.
But the Spaniard fears his title hopes have all but disappeared as he faces the thankless task of trying to overturn a 40-point deficit on Stoner with just three races remaining.
Lorenzo clawed four-points back on Stoner in the action-packed 24-lap race after the Aussie had made a shock error while leading in the early stages.
The pre-race favourite ran off track on lap five but recovered to salvage a brilliant third, which was just one place behind Lorenzo, who couldn’t take full advantage of Stoner’s blunder.
Lorenzo was unable to fight with compatriot Dani Pedrosa for the victory and he told MCN: "It's too late because there are only three races to the end and it's too late because of the bike we have. We don't have any big chances coming. Maybe I can win some races from now until the end of the season but I don't see me winning three races in a row in normal conditions. And even if I won the last three races it doesn't give me the world title. Casey must finish further back than second and I can’t see this situation in my mind, I don't see it happening unless there is something strange."
For six pages of coverage from the Twin Ring Motegi race, including Lorenzo’s involvement in a first lap collision with Valentino Rossi, see Wednesday’s Motor Cycle News.
