MOTOGP: Rossi and Lorenzo play down injuries

Yamaha MotoGP teammates and title rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo have both played down minor injuries picked up following the Aragon Grand Prix.

Rossi crashed heavily during the post-race Michelin tire test at Aragon, while Spanish media revealed at the weekend that Lorenzo had sprained his left shoulder i- where he suffered repeated injuries during 2013 i- in a mini-bike accident while training.

Both insisted they will be fine for this weekend's Japanese GP at Motegi, which kicks off a three-week string of back-to-back races.

Lorenzo said: "As you may have heard, I had a small incident while I was training but I'm well, I just have a bit of pain in my left shoulder but I will race without any problems in Motegi."

Rossi said he had already fully recovered from his Aragon incident.

"In Aragon, during the test, I crashed but there were no further consequences, only a little abrasion on my arm," he said. "I'm fine and I'm ready for the triple-header."

Team director Massimo Meregalli does not feel his riders' scrapes since Aragon will have any impact on their Motegi form.

"Despite minor crashes, our riders are both in fine shape, so I feel positive that we can again be key protagonists this weekend and we look forward to some exciting racing," he said.

Yamaha cliched the 2015 teams' championship at Aragon and the riders' title is now virtually a two-horse race between Rossi and Lorenzo following Honda rider Marc Marquez's crash at the last round. Rossi holds a 14-point lead over his team-mate with four races to go, and Marquez will be mathematically eliminated if he does not outscore Rossi by five points at Motegi.

Reigning champion Marquez has also injured his left hand for the second time this year, while mountain biking last week.

Originally on Autosport.com