Lorenzo to race in Japan despite shoulder injury
Jorge Lorenzo suffered a "small incident" in training to injure his shoulder, but will still race in Motegi this weekend.
A shoulder injury will not prevent Jorge Lorenzo from racing in the Japanese MotoGP this weekend as he aims to put more pressure on championship leader Valentino Rossi.
The two-time world champion cut Movistar Yamaha team-mate Rossi's advantage to 14 points with victory at the Aragon Grand Prix on home soil last month.
Lorenzo, Rossi and world champion Marc Marquez have all suffered accidents in training or testing since then.
Marquez broke his hand in a mountain bike accident, but will still race in Motegi despite needing surgery and Rossi, who finished third in Aragon, suffered an abrasion to his arm that will not keep him out of action.
Lorenzo arrived in Japan wearing a sling, but the 28-year-old Spaniard has allayed concerns over his fitness.
"As you may have heard, I had a small incident while I was training but I'm well, I just have a bit of pain in my left shoulder but I will race without any problems in Motegi," he said.
Lorenzo has won in Japan in each of the last two years and is eyeing a hat-trick on Sunday.
He added: "I have still great feelings from Aragon. It was a nice victory in front of our home crowd. We were also able to achieve the World Championship Team Title for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP.
"The weekend was perfect and we could make up some good points compared to Valentino. The championship is amazing in this last part of the season but from now on we need to stay more focused if we want to keep the momentum and try to win the title.
"Next stop is Japan a place where I have good memories, especially from the last two years. Motegi is a typical stop and go circuit but for some reason I could do great races in the past even if it may be better suited for our rivals.
"This year we go there eager to do another great battle so hopefully we could do another nice race and try to make the championship tighter."