Skip to Main Contents

Detail

Yamaha press releases on our motor sports racing activities


Results of MotoGP World Championship Round 17 Australian GP
Jorge Lorenzo Crowned 2012 MotoGP World Champion!
Oct. 29, 2012

Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo clinched the 2012 MotoGP World Championship by placing 2nd at Round 17 at the AirAsia Australian Grand Prix held on October 28. In addition to taking his second premier class title since claiming his first two years ago in 2010, this is also the 16th time Yamaha has won the Rider title in the pinnacle class of motorcycle road racing.
Lorenzo started the season in strong form, taking the win at the season opener in Qatar and following up with a second place finish in Round 2 in Spain. He then went on to take three consecutive wins in France (Rd. 4), Catalunya (Rd. 5) and Great Britain (Rd. 6) and the top spot in the standings. An unfortunate rear-end collision by a pursuing rider at Round 7 in Assen resulted in a no-pointer however, and Honda's Casey Stoner returned to tie with Lorenzo in the standings, effectively resetting the series. At Round 8 in Germany, Lorenzo took back the top spot in the season standings with a 2nd place finish and solidified his lead with wins in Italy (Rd. 9) and San Marino (Rd. 13) while never finishing lower than 2nd at every race elsewhere. Come Round 17 in Australia, Lorenzo's main competition for the championship, Honda's Dani Pedrosa, had closed the point gap to 23 points. However, a crash by Pedrosa left him out of contention for the title, and while local hero Stoner took the race win, Lorenzo took 2nd place and was crowned the 2012 MotoGP World Champion.

image image


Jorge Lorenzo (2nd place, 2012 MotoGP World Champion)
"What a day! I'm very happy, it was easier than I expected because Dani made a mistake in a corner and crashed. I wanted to keep with Casey but he was so strong. Today all I had to do was finish the race and I have become World Champion for the second time. It's such a sweet feeling! I want to thank all the team, Yamaha, my family, my friends, sponsors and fans who support me. Today is an amazing moment. We've been very patient, very concentrated and finally the World title arrives!"

Date: October 28, 2012 (Sun.)  Circuit: Phillip Island, Australia (4.448 km)
Laps: 27 (120.096 km)  Course conditions: Dry
Air temp.: 15°C  Ground temp.: 26°C
PP: C. Stoner (1'29.623/Honda)  FL: C. Stoner (1'30.191)


Pos. Rider Team Machine Time
1 C. Stoner Repsol Honda Team Honda 41'01.324
2 J. Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha +9.223
3 C. Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +14.57
4 A. Dovizioso Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +23.303
5 A. Bautista San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +23.432
6 S. Bradl LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +23.467


Hiroyuki Yanagi, President and CEO of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
"I want to convey my heartfelt congratulations to Jorge Lorenzo for clinching the 2012 MotoGP Championship title at the Australian GP with one round still remaining in the season. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the fans, the sponsors and other people involved who have supported Jorge and the Team.
This championship title has value that goes above and beyond the great achievement of a second MotoGP title for Jorge Lorenzo. This was the first season under the new 1000cc regulation and, in that sense, made for a new and greater challenge for all of the riders and teams competing. I believe winning the title in such a new realm was made possible thanks to the combined strength of the riders, the machine and the team's management. Let me say that I am very proud to have a rider like Jorge Lorenzo, who continues to adapt and grow steadily with such success, as a member of the Yamaha family. I look forward to his achievements in the 2013 season to come."


Jorge Lorenzo Profile
Nationality: Spanish
Born: May 4, 1987
Racing team: Yamaha Factory Racing
Racing career
2002: 21st in MotoGP World Championship 125cc class
2003: 12th in MotoGP World Championship 125cc class
2004: 4th in MotoGP World Championship 125cc class
2005: 5th in MotoGP World Championship 250cc class
2006: Champion of MotoGP World Championship 250cc class
2007: Champion of MotoGP World Championship 250cc class
2008: 4th in MotoGP World Championship
2009: 2nd in MotoGP World Championship
2010: MotoGP World Champion
2011: 2nd in MotoGP World Championship
2012: MotoGP World Champion


Jorge Lorenzo Statistics 2012

Date Round Circuit Qualifier Race
Apr. 8 Round 1 – Qatar Losail 1st 1st
Apr. 29 Round 2 – Spain Jerez 1st 2nd
May 6 Round 3 – Portugal Estoril 4th 2nd
May 20 Round 4 – France Le Mans 4th 1st
Jun. 3 Round 5 – Catalunya Catalunya 2nd 1st
Jun. 17 Round 6 – Great Britain Silverstone 4th 1st
Jun. 30 Round 7 – Netherlands Assen 3rd DNF
Jul. 8 Round 8 – Germany Sachsenring 5th 2nd
Jul. 15 Round 9 – Italy Mugello 2nd 1st
Jul. 29 Round 10 – United States Laguna Seca 1st 2nd
Aug. 19 Round 11 – Indianapolis Indianapolis 2nd 2nd
Aug. 26 Round 12 – Czech Republic Brno 1st 2nd
Sep. 16 Round 13 – San Marino Misano 2nd 1st
Sep. 30 Round 14 – Aragon Aragon 1st 2nd
Oct. 14 Round 15 – Japan Motegi 1st 2nd
Oct. 21 Round 16 – Malaysia Sepang 1st 2nd
Oct. 28 Round 17 – Australia Phillip Island 2nd 2nd

*One round remains in the 2012 MotoGP season. Round 18 in Valencia (Nov. 11).


Back to
Top