Motorcycling-Yamaha resolves MotoGP engine problems

June 2 (Reuters) - Engine failures suffered by MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi at last month's Italian Grand Prix were caused by electronics and the problem has been resolved, Yamaha said on Thursday. "We have already devised a countermeasure, so we are confident that the failures in Mugello will not recur," said Kouji Tsuya, project leader for Yamaha's YZR-M1 bike, in a statement at the Grand Prix of Catalunya. Nine times world champion Rossi qualified on pole for his home grand prix but his bike's engine blew early in the race in front of tens of thousands of fans, leaving him 37 points off the pace. Championship leader Lorenzo had engine problems in the morning warm-up and won after a new one was fitted. Yamaha said the new specification standard electronic control unit had made the bike's rev limiter work in a different way to last year. The engine revved too much, damaging valves and pistons. "We set the rev limiter using last year's data in exactly the same way as we did last year, but we could not be aware that the (2016) software worked in a different way," said Tsuya. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Lovell)