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Interview with Jorge Lorenzo
Interview: Jorge Lorenzo
An interview with MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo
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PS met the reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo exclusively before the Sachsenring GP in Dresden. The Spaniard chatted openly and relaxed about his homeland, Yamaha and his colleagues in MotoGP.
Uwe Seitz
08/23/2011
In the entrance hall of the hotel right next to the Frauenkirche stands a young man in baggy jeans and a T-shirt. He smiles for a photo with the concierge who instantly recognized him as a MotoGP world champion. Jorge Lorenzo greets us warmly, and together with representatives of his helmet sponsor we go to the Italian around the corner. No hint of starry airs, no sober checking off of press appointments. We meet an extremely likeable young man who talks about his otherwise strict diet plan over a pizza and watches the hustle and bustle on the square with amusement. After dinner, the 24-year-old lounges on the couch in the hotel and chats away until his manager Hector reminds us that Jorge has to go to the Louis Store in Dresden for the autograph session. The Sachsenring company started for him.
? Jorge, what is actually worse for you as a Mallorcan to share an island with thousands of tennis-socked German pensioners or to share the racetrack with Simoncelli??
! Lorenzo: (laughs) The Germans were definitely not bad for Mallorca. The economy has been boosted tremendously over the years. Okay, there are quite a few of you there (laughs), but for me it is worse to stay in a corner with Simoncelli side by side in the GP (laughs). I don’t feel safe around him and I hope he changes soon. Personally, I have nothing against him.
? After Simoncelli cleared you in Assen right from the start, you were relatively calm compared to the previous races. Did you let yourself be so unsettled by Rossi’s comment that all safety naggers in MotoGP are pussies??
! Lorenzo: No, of course we are not pussies. We are drivers with enough courage and we prove it every race weekend. For a champion of Rossi’s stature, that was a pretty stupid remark.
? With the latest results you are back in the fight for the title, while Rossi is bobbing around in midfield. You are the world champion. Nevertheless, it gets a lot more attention in comparison. If it wasn’t better for the sport itself, Rossi would soon quit?
! Lorenzo: The Grand Prix existed before Rossi and it will continue afterwards. He has this special gift that people like him and think his show is good. But the sport works without Rossi, without Lorenzo, without Stoner. Some stop, others follow suit, the sport stays.
? How much is show then and how much is sport in MotoGP – right now?
! Lorenzo: You mean all the polemics right now? Well, MotoGP is also a show and people love it. In the reports you can see the falls, wild overtaking maneuvers – that’s what people love. And the word battles and so on. The real motorcycle fans who know something about driving, who pay attention to the lines we drive, the driving style of a driver or who follow his development over the years. But that’s maybe only ten percent. The majority is into the show. That’s not bad. We must not forget: the more you watch, the more money there is to be made. MotoGP is a business.
? Didn’t disappoint you as a young driver when you realized it?
! Lorenzo: Yes. When I started on Mallorca as a child, it was 100 percent just racing – no television or viewers. But every step forward means more outside attention and more business. You learn to deal with it. MotoGP is right at the top and of course that’s a great thing for our savings books. MotoGP is growing. There are more journalists and more and more countries are broadcasting the races – more than in the times of Schwantz, Lawson or Rainey. Then you accept that there is so much circus.
? The other day Wayne Gardner told us that he is letting his 14-year-old son Remy race in Spain because there are the best young series there. Why Spain??
! Lorenzo: It used to be the Italians. But they overslept a bit. There aren’t that many junior classes there anymore. A lot has happened in Spain in the past ten years, with new opportunities every year to take the next step as a driver. In addition, the talents were massively promoted by the association. If a boy was talented, it wasn’t impossible to get to the top and drive in a good team without a wealthy father. I would also say that Spain is the ultimate at the moment.
2snap
Lorenzo gave everything at the Sachsenring and is back in the title battle.
? But now Spain is not doing well economically. Are you following this development?
! Lorenzo: More and more. In the past, I wasn’t really interested in anything apart from racing and sports. Today I follow world events closely and I hear people outside at night on the street in Barcelona, where I now live, protesting against the government.
? Are you worried or do you have plans to move elsewhere??
! Lorenzo: I lived in London until 2009. I will soon be moving into my first own house near Barcelona. I will pay my taxes in Spain and I have no plans to go anywhere else.
? There are parallels between the economic situation in many countries and the motorcycle industry. The Japanese are under pressure. Do you feel that as a MotoGP rider too??
! Lorenzo: It’s the case that things don’t go as well as you’d like during development, and the cost side is also much more closely monitored in a MotoGP team. I think it is very important that the promoter Dorna takes this into account in the regulations.
? You mean above all the 1000 rule with series parts. Are you looking forward to the new bikes?
! Lorenzo: Oh yes. I’ve never ridden such a big motorcycle. That must be great.
? But you have probably already ridden a development bike?
! Lorenzo: (smiles) Yes, it’s our turn. Just this: when it’s done, it will be competitive.
? Since series parts will be allowed, how close are you to the development of the R1?
! Lorenzo: We are of course working directly with the M1 and, step by step, our experience is being transferred to the R1. But I’m not going to sit down on an R1 prototype and tell the engineer what he needs to change.
? The R1 will soon get the electronics from the MotoGP?
! Lorenzo: She already has the whole program. Traction control, anti-wheelie control, and I really believe that this technology means a real safety gain for the driver. In MotoGP, it kills the show without the drifts and slides, and the talents of the riders are no longer so crucial.
? Despite these electronics, you sailed through the air quite a bit in your first MotoGP year. And the next day got back on the motorcycle and just as mercilessly accelerated again. Not infrequently there was the next departure. What’s going on inside you??
! Lorenzo: I didn’t think anything, I’m afraid. At least not of the danger. And not even with an injury – and I always had it – to be able to fly again straight away. I just ignored the consequences. I really wanted to go, come what may. This is the premier class, I was the new one and just 20 years old. Today, with my experience, I might be a little more careful.
2snap
In the hotel suite, Lorenzo had a relaxed chat with PS editor Uwe Seitz. Then he left for the Sachsenring. The world champion sleeps in the paddock.
? Finally, a few sentences that you could complete.
! Lorenzo: Oh yes, let’s go.
? I like the paddock because…
! Lorenzo: … there are still a few people I get on well with. In Europe, by the way, I always sleep in the paddock.
? The first thing I would change about MotoGP is…
! Lorenzo: … the Japanese GP this year. After Fukushima, it’s just too early to go there now. Nobody knows what the radiation really looks like. I don’t want to go there and neither do the others.
? The best thing about racing is…
! Lorenzo: … very clearly: win.
? The next one I’m going to spend more than $ 1000 on is…
! Lorenzo: … oh, I don’t know. I recently bought a jacket for almost 1000 euros and immediately regretted it. At home I didn’t like it anymore and I hardly ever put it on. Something like that annoys me because I’m actually quite frugal. Otherwise, of course, I have a lot of expenses every month.
? The German GP at the Sachsenring is different from the others…
! Lorenzo: … the noise. Like in Mugello, people have a huge party out there 24/7 with their engines and music. As a driver, you can feel the spectators intensely – that’s wonderful. If the German GP were to stop taking place, I would be very sorry, if only because Germany is such an important country in Europe. MotoGP belongs here. But Dorna decides, I’m just a driver.
? For me, the two-strokes will soon be history…
! Lorenzo: … unfortunate. The sound and the struggle to rule these bikes – unbelievable! They’re so sensitive and difficult to drive when you pull up the throttle at the exit of a corner. But if the future is four-stroke – all right. That won’t be around for long either. The electric motors will come, I’m sure.
? If someone offers me a Chubba Chub (ex-sponsor and lollipop maker), I tell them…
! Lorenzo: (laughs) It all depends on my mood. If I really want something sweet, well. I don’t have the sponsor anymore because over time I found it silly. I wanted to come across as a bit more grown-up and there was something childish about this lollipop sucker. Although, it went down well with the kids.
? I end my career when…
! Lorenzo: … I no longer have fun and am no longer competitive. I haven’t set myself a goal of how many titles I want to win. I live for the moment. When it’s over, that’s the way it is, and I look back proudly on what I have achieved.
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