Manila (Philippines), 30th January 2016
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo was warmly greeted yesterday by thousands of fans as he stepped into the Philippines for the first time ever. Though it was a country he had never been to before, he felt perfectly at home and completed a nice but full day of promotion activities.
The Majorcan rider, who was welcomed upon arriving in Manila by a large group of Filipinos dealers, received all the warmth the Philippine people have to offer and was privileged to meet the president of Yamaha Motor Philippines, Mr. Toru Osugi.
The next day, the five-time World Champion traveled to the Carmona racetrack, about 40 kilometers from the Philippine capital. Besides the pleasure of meeting his loyal fans, the MotoGP star also got to ride a Yamaha R15 on the track as part of the Yamaha Grand Prix 7 schedule, leaving him with a wide grin on his face. “It’s a fantastic bike that brings a lot of fun,” said the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider when he handed in the bike, but there were more activities in store for him.
In the afternoon, after returning to the capital, Lorenzo was honoured in the Greenfield District Park during the Triple Crown celebration, a special moment for the Spanish rider to thank all the people congregated there. Later on he went to Yzone, the brand-new Yamaha flagship shop in Manila, to participate in the unveiling of the new big bikes programme in the presence of the entire management of Yamaha Motor Philippines. The presentation featured Yamaha models such as the MT-09, the T-MAX, The Bolt, the YZF-R1 and the factory YZR-M1 bike and included the announcement of new Yamalube products for the Asian markets.
This was the final event for Lorenzo before facing the first official MotoGP test of the year at Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) on Monday.
JORGE LORENZO
I‘m delighted with the charming and warm welcome I received during my first time ever in the Philippines. It‘s a bit strange, because I can feel something special in this country; maybe because of the Spanish heritage or the way the people speak, with so many Spanish words, I feel like I‘m at home. It‘s great to visit a new place like this and I enjoyed visiting Carmona Racing Circuit a lot with all the fans waiting for me during the Yamaha Grand Prix 7. Hopefully in the future this beautiful country can participate with a Philippine rider in MotoGP and also a good circuit to compete at with MotoGP bikes, because the country is fantastic! It has been an honour to be a part of the presentation at the brand-new Yamaha flagship shop in Manila. I hope to come back soon!