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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.

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!"

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 Statistics 2012

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