Jorge Lorenzo expressed his frustration at the first-lap crash with Marco Simoncelli at the Iveco TT Assen, a race in which he remounted his factory Yamaha M1 to finish sixth.

Jorge Lorenzo vented his anger at Marco Simoncelli following the Iveco TT Assen on Saturday, in which the Italian rider collected the reigning World Champion in an opening-lap crash. The pair were both able to remount their bikes, Lorenzo finishing sixth and Simoncelli ninth, but the Yamaha Factory Racing rider’s frustration was evident after the race.

“You saw what happened on the first lap on the TV. Of course he doesn’t want to take me out, that’s not his intention, but I think the problem is that he’s not very conscious about the risks there are in the category, with this bike and these tyres,” said Lorenzo, who was felled by Simoncelli when the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider attempted an overtake but crashed due to a cold rear tyre.

“I thought he learned from the past, from the controversy he created, like what happened with Dani (Pedrosa), but it’s clear that he doesn’t learn at the moment. I hope he learns in the future but at this moment I don’t have any respect for him because he is causing a risk to all the riders.”

Taking what positives he could, Lorenzo added: “The good thing is that we finished in sixth position, we took some points and I was going fast at a good pace, but the Championship is now very difficult. We are very far from Stoner and now we must think about winning races and going fast. This is the only goal this year. We are making some modifications on the bike which are working a little better. This morning in the warm up we tried a new fairing and gained some stability on the straight which is a positive thing, and we hope in Mugello we can be more competitive like Ben (Spies) showed today.”

Simoncelli’s version of events saw the Italian lay the blame on a cold rear Bridgestone tyre, and he said: “I tried to overtake Lorenzo in the second turn and I didn’t feel that I took too high a risk, but I lost the rear because of the cold tyre – without throttle – in the middle of the corner and I crashed. I took Lorenzo in the crash and I’m sorry for him.”

Simoncelli started from pole position and had impressed throughout the practice sessions. “My race pace today was very good, like I demonstrated in the qualifying and in the practice, so I’m disappointed about that,” he said. “Anyway, now we have to keep going and try our best in Mugello and try to change the situation. I think it’s a fantastic track and I like it. The fans are fantastic and a lot of Italian fans so I’m looking forward to being there.”