There’s something slightly unearthly about the way Jorge Lorenzo has re-invented himself for a second time. His studied manner, his New Age philosophies, his careful sincerity, his respectful behaviour. Especially when you consider that only a couple of years ago he was much feared as a feisty teenager prone to losing his temper with his mechanics and hurling his helmet around.
There’s something else unearthly too. His speed, and his racing ability. In his second year in the top class, Jorge has been not just challenging team-mate Rossi, but actually beating him at a couple of races. Which is hard for the established master. It’s one thing getting beaten now and then by Stoner on a Ducati or Pedrosa on a Honda. But it’s quite different by a guy on the same bike.
It came to a head at round six, the Catalunya GP. For the first time the two went wheel to wheel. Lorenzo seemed to have it won, until Rossi blew by on the last corner. It was the most exciting race most could remember, and if Rossi had finally been able to stamp his authority on the young upstart, he had needed to dig deeper than anyone had ever seen. This will not be the last time…
Jorge’s presence among the gods has not happened by mistake. The role was predestined when he was barely old enough to walk, by a father whose obsession with making his son into a future world champion was, well, obsessive. It conquered the lack of spare money: José Manuel Lorenzo was a mechanic, and built the boy his first minibike when he was only three. “I started to compete in minicross. When I was seven, I dedicated myself completely to motorbikes.”
“Chicho” not only taught his son to race in motocross on Mallorca, where Jorge grew up. He would also take the stripling Jorge through mock rostrum appearances and postrace Press conferences. “We would do these things … just playing,” explains Jorge now. Chicho even wrote a book about the process: “Asi Se Prepara Un Futuro Campion” (Thus a Future Champion is Prepared, published by Hispano Europa). And it must be regarded as the authoritative source, because that’s just what happened.
He pushed Jorge through the junior Spanish ranks (where his talent was obvious) and straight into GP racing as soon as he was old enough, thanks to a helpful Derbi factory. He began on the day he turned 15, one day after the Spanish GP at Jerez.
That was in 2002. The next year he won his first race, and three the year after that. And established his presence. Feisty is hardly a big enough word for the teen’s junior reign of fear in the Derbi pit.
That was the first version of Lorenzo. And now came the first great re-invention: Lorenzo v2.0. He was becoming more thoughtful and deliberate, and knew he needed to find a better way of coming to terms with his world. It meant breaking with his father, and going independent. Quite a step for a 17-year-old.
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