Lorenzo eyes best of British Grand Prix

World champion Jorge Lorenzo looks for a repeat of last year’s “almost perfect” British Grand Prix win when he resumes his title duel with Australia’s Casey Stoner this weekend. Yamaha rider Lorenzo saw his world championship lead cut to seven points by Honda’s Stoner in last week’s Catalunya Grand Prix, but he will have the advantage on Sunday. “Last year, I put in one of the best races, it was almost perfect,” said the Spaniard, who has enjoyed his trips to the United Kingdom, having won the event at Donington in 2007 and 2008. Lorenzo has also won three times in five races this season, but Stoner believes he has nothing to fear at Silverstone. “Jorge is extremely quick at Silverstone but last year I had some bad luck at the start of a race. I think we can hope for a good performance this year,” added the Australian, who was fifth in 2010, half a second off the podium. This year’s race will be new territory for former world champion Valentino Rossi, who missed last year’s inaugural event at Silverstone after the switch from Donington because of injury. “I’ll start on Friday with a small handicap because unfortunately, I didn’t get to race there last year. I haven’t ridden a MotoGP bike here,” said Rossi. “I’ll have to learn the track as quickly and as well as possible, as it’s very technical, with several blind spots where taking the right line is very important. Of course we’ll also have to work on adjusting the bike. “Ducati continues working on development. There’s still work to be done, but it’s clear which areas we have to address and we’re all focused and determined to improve.” Meanwhile, Andrea Dovizioso will be Honda’s second official rider as Dani Pedrosa, who missed the Catalunya Grand Prix to nurse a shoulder injury, is still convalescing. But Yamaha’s Colin Edwards will participate, having passed a medical assessment on his right shoulder. The 37-year-old American missed Catalunya after breaking his right collarbone in a practice crash at the Montmelo circuit.