Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo of Spain will look to strengthen his 33-point lead in the MotoGP world championship as the series heads east for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Japan.

Lorenzo came second at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit last year behind his closest rival this year, Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda.

The race is the first of three back-to-back stops in Asia before the season ending Valencia Grand Prix on November 11.

Sunday’s main race is slated to start at 12pm noon Cambodian time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Riley at [email protected]