Jorge Lorenzo in Qatar

Credits: Rush360Sports

Jorge Lorenzo was born in Mallorca, Spain in 1987. The first time he hopped on a motorbike, he was 3 years old. It did not take long for him to start competing. After a few local competitions, he went to the national stage in 1997. In 1998, he won the Aprilia 50cc Cup.

By 2000, he entered the Spanish 125cc series, for which the governing body had to create an exception as Lorenzo was too young to compete according to the rules. In 2001, Jorge became the youngest rider to win an European 125cc race.

A 4th place in the Spanish Championship along with 2 podiums were enough to impress the World Championship teams. Although, once again, Jorge was too young to compete in early 2002. This time around, he waited until the 3rd round of the season in Jerez. He only went to the racetrack by the second day of the race weekend, as that was his 15th birthday date. Regardless, he qualified for the race, thus impressing the paddock.

In 2003, Lorenzo achieved his first win at the world stage in Brazil. He continued to progress in 2004 as he won three times in that same 125cc World Championship. That season he finished in 4th place overall, convincing Honda to offer him a ride in the mid-tier category, the 250cc.

Jorge Lorenzo did not take long to adapt to a new, bigger bike since he racked up six podiums in his first season in 250cc. Aprilia recruited Jorge for 2006. Big expectations surrounded him. He thrived. The Mallorcan rider took his first world title, and then another one. He won 17 races out of 33 during those two seasons, making him the most successful Spanish rider in 250cc.

That domination period granted him a place at one of the best teams in MotoGP, Yamaha. Here was Lorenzo, in the pinnacle of motorcycle racing with a top team. Furthermore, his teammate would be none other than Valentino Rossi — one of the best of all time. The word teammate may have multiple meanings. In the motorsport world, it means the first guy you want to beat.

The talented Mallorcan rider quickly showed his opponents should take him seriously. In the first race, he grabbed the pole position and finished 2nd. Then, he qualified first again in the second round but finished in 3rd place at home turf. Estoril came around and Lorenzo scored yet another pole position. Finally, he converted it to his first win in MotoGP. Three races and three podiums. Impeccable start.

His confidence soared, but his Yamaha certainly humbled him. In the 4th round, his bike plunged him and he broke his ankles. Jorge had many more crashes in his first season. Surely he was finding his and the bike’s limits, but that came with a cost. Nevertheless, he regularly put on respectable performances. Throughout his first season, he went to the podium six times. Lorenzo finished the season in 4th.



2009 saw a more consistent Jorge Lorenzo and therefore a threat to Rossi’s charge to the title. With four wins and thirteen podiums overall, the Spanish rider did a very good campaign. One highlight of the season was the Barcelona race, where Lorenzo and Rossi fought until the last corner. Rossi stole the lead from Lorenzo precisely in the last corner. Where no one believed he could do it. Still, Jorge showed he could match Rossi, he just needed more experience.

2010 came around and presented a chance for Lorenzo to beat Rossi on the same bike. The Spaniard started well with a second-place followed by two victories. In the 4th round, Valentino Rossi broke his leg, forcing him to miss four races. On the track, Lorenzo kept showing a great form. He dominated that season. Winning 9 times and only twice out of the podium, he beat the record of most points in a MotoGP season. Therefore, even if Rossi had not broken his leg, the champion might have been Lorenzo.

In the following year, Honda brought a great bike and Casey Stoner rode it, which proved to be a very challenging combination to beat. In addition, Jorge suffered an injury by the closing stages of the year. Anyway, he finished 2nd place in 2011.

Yamaha and Jorge Lorenzo wanted to turn the tables in 2012, and so they did. Their bike was a bit better than Honda’s. The Spaniard had another very consistent season where he only retired twice. When he finished, it was not lower than in 2nd place. In the end, it was Lorenzo’s 2nd title in the top tier.

2013 had yet a different story. He started the season well with 3 victories in 6 races, which made him a very strong candidate for the title. However, in the 7th round, in Assen, he had a heavy crash in which he broke his collarbone in Friday practices. People in the paddock expected him to have a two-week recovery period in an optimistic scenario. Nevertheless, Lorenzo raced two days after the crash and struggled to a heroic 5th place.

Germany, the next round, brought another crash for him and he broke his collarbone again. This time it forced him to skip the race. Following his recovery, he was very consistent in the rest of the season. He finished behind Marc Márquez by a mere 4 points.

By 2014, Márquez and Honda were unstoppable. 10 wins in a row in the first 10 races basically ended the championship straight away. Lorenzo was not on his best form, especially in the first half of the season. Therefore, he finished 3rd, behind Rossi.

The initial 3 races of 2015 were not favourable for him. He bounced back with 4 consecutive wins. At that point, only Rossi and Lorenzo were championship contenders. Márquez was virtually out of contention. Honda was not so strong and its top rider was in “win or crash” mode, which made him retire three times in seven races.

Only after Brno did Lorenzo match Rossi in points. Otherwise, the Spaniard kept trailing the charismatic Italian. Tension rose both between the two contenders and between Rossi and Márquez. Mostly in the latter pair. It was to blow up in the last 2 races.

Following one of the best races ever of MotoGP in Australia, it was time to go to Malaysia, the penultimate round. Jorge again trailing Rossi, who was chasing a 10th world title. Pressure was considerably greater for the Italian rider.

Rossi dropped a bomb in the press conference before the race weekend. He said Márquez was helping Lorenzo in his title chase. A conspiracy theory desperately created to victimise himself. It turned out to be true after Rossi said it, but that might just have been Márquez’s revenge for the third time Rossi played with him that season.

Márquez fought Rossi fiercely, vigorously and irritatingly until the Italian man lost his patience and pushed him off the track in a rather ugly move. It was horrible. Especially coming from a legend of the sport. Rossi still picked up all his points from a 4th place but suffered penalty points that meant he would start dead last in the final round.

Rossi vs Márquez rivalry definitely helped Lorenzo. It was down to the wire, still Lorenzo clinched the world title. As much as it is difficult to accept for some, Rossi made his own bed.

Imagem de Vinod Thadhani por Pixabay

The next couple of seasons were difficult for Jorge Lorenzo. In 2016, three wet races and also some bad luck made him struggle. For 2017, he changed to Ducati, since he felt Yamaha was not treating him fairly. It was a huge challenge. Yamaha and Ducati are two very different bikes which require distinct riding styles to take full advantage of it. Jorge still achieved three podiums throughout the season. However, he finished 7th place overall.

2018 was a make-or-break year for his performance on the Italian machinery. He did not start well in the first handful of races. Rumours came up about his retirement. He even went through a depression stage. Tension was palpable in the Ducati box. Next stop: Italy. Seemingly out of nowhere, Jorge grabbed a win just like the old times: he took the lead and nobody ever saw him again. Surprise, surprise.

Not less of a surprise was the news just a few days after the race. Lorenzo would change to Honda for 2019. Just when he started getting along with the Ducati bike. Many people in Ducati doubted he could do it. That was the reason behind his decision. He went on to win twice more in 2018, despite missing four races due to injuries. One of those wins included an impressive battle against Márquez — his future teammate.

Two big crashes in Aragón and Buriram led to his injuries. Thus, Lorenzo was still recovering during off-season testing. He still rode in tests. When the 2019 season started, he was struggling to get a good rhythm with Honda. Meanwhile, his teammate was dominating. Catalunya was the place for the 7th round. Just when Jorge seemed to be more confident on his bike, he fell and took three other riders with him.

He is not an aggressive rider and he apologised to everyone involved. Not long after, in testing at the same track, he had a massive crash which injured him badly. He missed four races. Even when he came back, he never regained that confidence. By the end of the season, he announced retirement. Recently Yamaha made him a test rider for 2020. He definitely did not leave on a positive note. Anyway, Jorge Lorenzo is a true warrior whose story is very inspirational.

There are a few things we should not forget about him. Jorge Lorenzo was the first and only rider to beat Márquez in a MotoGP season so far. He also beat Valentino Rossi, twice in the same team. Furthermore, he beat Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa as well, two other very special riders.

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Read the story of Jorge Lorenzo’s toughest teammate: Valentino Rossi.