In 2012, Jorge Lorenzo became the Moto GP World Champion for the second time. The 25 year old Spanish rider had consistent good results and in the second half of the season had a really strong Dani Pedrosa hot on his heels. Lorenzo may have lost a few races but he was victorious in the end. He is working hard during this Winter break preparing for the new season when he will once again share the Yamaha box with Valentino Rossi. What will this next season be like – who will be the number 1 rider – and what will the future hold for Mallorca’s warrior?
Euronews met up with him to find the answers to these questions and much more.
Euronews: ‘‘Jorge, who’s going to win the 2013 World Championship?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘I don’t know, I’d like to see into the future, but I haven’t got that super power. I’d like to be the winner and I’ll fight to win. I’ll work hard, race after race. But at the moment I really don’t know. The big favourites will be me, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘In the first test session in Sepang earlier this month you were second. Are you satisfied and how’s the feeling with the Yamaha M1?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘Really positive. It’s always important to test all the parts, cause this bike will more or less be the right one for the whole year. We improved the chassis, so the bike is faster now in the curves, but there is still something missing in the engine. We’re going to work on it now. It needs more power with greater acceleration on the straight.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘Your first experience having Rossi as your teammate in Yamaha didn’t go so well. The wall inside the box became a big talking point. Will it be there again?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘There won’t be any wall this season and I think it was given too much importance when it was there. It got too much media coverage with Yamaha being the first team to put up a wall between two riders. I always said it was really easy to cross. You just had to take a few steps behind or in front of it and you could get to the other side. I think it was more for the media than anything else.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘Will there be any secrets between you, though? And who will be the number 1?’‘ Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘No secrets this time… and about the number 1… well, there won’t be a number 1! In Yamaha, there’s no number 1 or number 2, Both riders are always given the same equipment. When I arrived in MotoGP, I was 20 years old, Valentino (Rossi) was at the top winning a lot of races and championships, and at that time I didn’t feel in any way that I was number 2. Now, that he’s coming back after two quite disappointing years for him, I don’t feel I’m the number 1 either.’‘ Euronews: ‘‘Jorge, what if, at the end of next season, you’re out of the title battle, with Rossi still in? Would you help him to win?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘Yes, I would because we’re in the same team, we represent the same brand. If Yamaha wins, it’s better for both of us.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘Let’s look back at the 2012 season. When did you really feel that you were going to win the Championship?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘Right at the very beginning. When I tried the new M1, I immediately saw that the bike had great potential and that we could win. When I won the first race in Qatar, it proved to me I was right. The Championship was long, but I could tell it would be easier than 2011, a really irregular season. But there was a long way to go.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘Above all, because Dani Pedrosa had an impressive second half of the season, with 6 victories in the last 8 races. Were you worried he could snatch the title away from you?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘Yes, there was always that fear of losing the title. He was very close and really competitive. He and Honda were in great shape and they had less to lose than us. When I saw him fall in Philipp Island, I could breathe again because I knew I had won.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘You’re the only Spanish rider to hold two World Championship titles in the top class and after Angel Nieto, you’re the most successful Spanish rider ever. What does this mean to you and what motivates you to carry on?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘I’ve achieved more than I ever thought was possible. When I was about 10 or 12, if somebody had told me to “sign here” to reach a podium or to win a World Championship race, I would have signed it with my eyes shut. Every day I think about how lucky I am, about the fact that I’ve got a wonderful job and that I have achieved so much.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘In your biography “My story so far” you speak about your passion for reading and the fact that one of your favourite books is Lance Armstrong’s biography, “an example of sportsmanship”. After what has happened and his confessions to Oprah Winfrey, have you changed your opinion?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘I read his two books, and they inspired me to continue training and go on. Reading them I found things that I could emulate. Of course, what Armstrong has done, isn’t good at all. But putting aside the negative part which is doping, I think that he has also done some positive things, for example creating the Livestrong foundation that supports people affected by cancer. I don’t think it’s fair now to only speak about the negative things.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘In November Anthony West, Moto2 rider, was suspended for doping. In the Spanish press at that time it was said that some riders sometimes use drugs to recover from an injury.’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘Yes it’s true, but we’re speaking about really isolated cases. I don’t think Anthony took it to improve his efficiency, but because he wasn’t in good shape. So he took this energy drink, which contained an illegal substance. Generally, we don’t take anything to improve efficiency, cause it wouldn’t help you to win tenths of a second, you wouldn’t be faster.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘Recently you spoke about retiring like Stoner, who left motorcycling at only 27 years old. Your contract with Yamaha expires at the end of 2014. Are you really thinking about retiring then?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘I don’t think so, I think I’ll stay in MotoGP for a bit longer. If I feel I can still get better and want to compete and ride a bike and if they still want me and make me a new offer, then I will carry on in MotoGP for a few more years.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘Your idol Max Biaggi went into Superbike after Moto GP. Would you follow in his footsteps?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘It’s possible, you can’t rule anything out in life. Superbike’s a really interesting championship, different from MotoGP, cause there you ride production motorcycles. Of course, MotoGP is the most important category, where you have the best riders in the world, but Superbike is developing a lot and it’s really interesting.’‘
Euronews: ‘‘And what would you like to do when you definitely retire from motorcycling? Do you have any projects?’‘
Jorge Lorenzo: ‘‘For the moment, no. But one day, I’d like to create a “riding school”, to teach children everything I have learnt over the years. Above all, I want them to ride safely, which is really important to me. It’s impossible to get rid of all risks in motorcycling because it’s a risky sport. But it’s really important to lessen the risk of injury and this is what I would like to teach them. I would like them to be fast and safe.’‘