Jorge Lorenzo - Winning Machine

With the 2010 title now sorted, and a Spaniard winning the premier class title for the first time since Alex Creville did over a decade ago, now the dust has settled we can look back and reflect on what has been a quite extraordinary season, plagued by injuries, fairing bashing racing and the crowning of a new world champion. One thing that will come out of it is the question that pretty much everybody has asked, would he have won the title had Rossi not broken his leg in Mugello? Or had Pedrosa’s throttle not stuck open when he was sweeping all aside in Japan?

Lorenzo’s answer has always been the same; he maintains that last year he fell off too many times as he was pushing the limit. He had beaten Rossi in two races already this season and thus at his home race Valentino was doing the same, it’s just unfortunate that he broke his leg, but that’s racing. Perfect answer! People can question the integrity of his first world championship in the major class all they want but there’s no doubt he fully deserved it.

But what many people don’t see is the Lorenzo under the visor. The Majorcan villianised by thousands for “taking it” to his more illustrious and what some call the GOAT. His sheer refusal to lie down and to be number two has molded him into a winning machine. Not from other people as much as they wanted to influence him, no. It was on his own back, he did this, he wanted this, and now he’s done it. As he said after the race in Sepang in the process of 8 years he has gone from not being able to compete in the practice session in Jerez, to winning two 250cc world championships, winning a motogp rookie of the year, braking countless bones to now, finally being crowned world champion in the elite motorcycle racing class.

What many people don’t know about Lorenzo is how determined he is. He has had countless media training lessons to try to improve his ability of getting across what he wants to stay rather than falling into the media trap of saying what they want him to say. He has had countless hours of English lessons to improve and develop a language dominating the world so that again he can get exactly his point across. This is so evident and clear for everybody to see by how he conducts himself in interviews. He will listen to the question, take it in, think about it, then give his answer rather than just saying the first thing that comes into his head. He has matured unbelievably turning himself from a hot headed teenager reacting at the first sound of the name Valentino Rossi into a world champion who can just over look the name of his soon to be former team mate.

He has found a peace within. When you look back to the 2008 season where Jorge stormed to pole in his first ever senior grand prix and then even more sensationally to a win in his third grand prix he achieved these accomplishments but that summed Jorge up. He was quick, scary quick but he wasn’t in control. After a terrifying high side in China smashing both his ankles and more crashes at Catalunya and Laguna Seca, Lorenzo briefly called quits, he said he didn’t want to race any more, there was a career over through a combination of fear and pain. It was only after a few days rest and some stern words from his trainer Marcos Hirosch that he decided to carry on racing.

Since that 2008 season he has taken up meditation and yoga, he has tried to calm himself down, be more fluid on the bike. Almost take a philosophy of the great Mick Doohan to finish first, first you have to finish – something that has been put into full effect this season. The inner peace that Jorge has found since taking up the meditation, becoming and taking aspects of the Buddha life have made little Jorge find a happy medium between the crash kid and Mr. nice guy. He is constantly fighting that inner demon and it’s evident to still see, but without that being there do you think he would have won at Jerez or not laid down in Motegi?

2009 will be the year which Jorge looks at in which he really kicked on. A new number, new manager and new start was how Lorenzo started the 2009 season and after some impressive performances he found himself as the only real title contender to Rossi due to injury problems for the other two aliens, but again it was a case of not finishing enough races proving to be a real problem for Jorge. Crashing out of the lead at Donnington Park on a slippery surface and crashing out when battling for the lead with Rossi in Brno, two consecutive DNF’s proved to be the difference at the end of the season. It was a season where many say he was outthought as well as out races by Rossi. Never the less the signs were encouraging for Lorenzo and they were that he was making real progression and closing the gap to Rossi. He had put into effect all his work during the off season before hand and his 250cc style of riding was matching up perfectly with the corner speed he carried with his M1 and after every race he looked more and more settled on his bike.

This was seen by Rossi and before the 2010 season and despite the controversial wall in the Fiat Yamaha garage Rossi decided to propose a data sharing ban in for the Fiat Yamaha team meaning that Lorenzo couldn’t use any of Rossi’s data and vice versa. The proposal was accepted and despite paper work and sponsor deals they were very much different teams. After breaking his thumb pre season in a motocross training accident and missing a pre season test in Qatar due to it, combined with his mid table form in the pre season tests in Malaysia prior to it people were starting to question how serious a title contender Lorenzo was, and talk was that if anybody was to dethrone Valentino Rossi it would be in the shape of Casey Stoner. These doubts were soon quashed when he surged through the field second half of the race and managed to finish second in the opener under the lights at Qatar, then two wins in Jerez and Le Mans out racing and pulling away from a sore Valentino Rossi after a shoulder injury due to his own motocross crash, before a second in Mugello really showed how serious title contender Lorenzo was. Then without Valentino Rossi due to that crash in Mugello he proved the doubters wrong when he went on a remarkable run of winning in Assen, Silverstone, Catalunya, Laguna Seca, and second place at the Sachsonring really showed that this was to be Lorenzo’s year. He all but had the title to lose heading into the summer break with over a 50 point lead due to Pedrosa crashing out in California. As well as blistering pace he has also demonstrated unbelievable self control to finish every race and great maturity to settle for position in the latter races of the season as any fall could’ve been threatening to his title. A win in the Czech Republic after the summer break only increased the gap meaning he could settle for seconds and thirds to be crowned champion. Once the title was in the bag and “the shackles came off” in Phillip Island a second there and further wins in Estoril where he made it three victories in three, and a dominating performance at the finale in Valencia people still questioned if he had earnt it or inherited it. But the facts are there for people to see, a new record point’s total, 16 podiums in 18 races including nine wins and taking home the BMW qualifying award these should be enough to stop people questioning.

In this season Jorge Lorenzo will have learnt a lot, not just the simple racing lessons that he will have learnt, he will have learnt a lot about himself. He has gone from a teen sensation who was always “doing a Rossi” as other journalists like to put it, who was always trying to be accepted and wanted people to like him. Into a very mature man with as the saying goes an old head on young shoulders. He has learnt that not everybody will love him, and despite how original or inventive his celebrations are because Valentino did them first he will be supposedly copying him. He has found just how he needs to be with life and is now settled in Barcelona after a brief spell in London and all the pieces have fallen into place for the young man.

But now he has been crowned the 2010 world champion, he deserves the credit for what he has achieved and how he has dominated. But as was famously once said winning the first one is easy, it’s if you can do it again. With Rossi forming the Italian dream team with Ducati and Stoner moving back onto a Honda in the shape of the HRC RCV 212 to join the Spanish hero Dani Pedrosa and the ever improving and former 250 rival Andrea Dovisizo. And it would be naive to not mention his new team mate Ben Spies who is joining him on the factory machine next year. We will see just how special this Majorcan kid on his M1 can be. But there will be more than a few trying to knock him off his perch and then you can never forget the weight and expectation the number one plate brings.