Jorge Lorenzo aims to consolidate his MotoGP title charge at Catalunya
It isn’t often in MotoGP that the driver’s Championship will seem as black and white after only 6 races have been completed in the calendar, but the exit of Valentino Rossi after the Italian Grand Prix has left the door wide open for Jorge Lorenzo to take advantage of the situation and build up a 47 point lead on his closest rival and fellow countryman Dani Pedrosa.
With him being on a hot streak this year as he has won four of the six races and finished second in the other two, it seems like Lorenzo now has a point to prove. This being his third year in the top class of MotoGP, he feels like this is the time for him to step out of the shadow of his illustrious team-mate. Though it may seem like a picture perfect setting for Lorenzo to take over the crown with Valentino set to miss out at least the next three races with his broken ankle, his track record seems to be the nemesis that could ruin it all for him.
Having already won the 250cc title twice, Lorenzo came to MotoGP as the most successful Spanish rider in the history of 250cc races. His domination of the event in 2006 and 2007 saw him win 17 races and take 19 pole positions as he converted all his 9 pole positions into race wins. As he graduated to the premier class in the 2008 season with Yamaha, he put in an impressive string of performances to start off with as he took pole position in the first three races that he entered and converting the third one into a win.
Yet as the season progressed, evidence of his inexperience on the heavier machinery began to show as things started to go downhill from his crash in the Italian Grand Prix. The following weekend he crashed again in practice at Catalunya causing him to miss the race. From there on in he could only manage a second place in the Misano Grand Prix. The season saw him crash his bike 7 times in the space of three months as he dwindled from being tied for first in the championship after the first 3 rounds, down to 4th at the end of the season, a whopping 183 points behind his team mate Rossi who clinched the title with 9 wins to his name.
2009 saw him finish second in the championship as Rossi claimed his seventh MotoGP title. This time the gap was only 45 points, but more importantly he did not finish 4 races compared to Rossi who’s only blemish was in the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Once again it was Lorenzo who crumbled under pressure as he crashed numerous times during the latter half of the season to let Rossi walk away with the title comfortably at the end.
In terms of rivals on the track, it seems that he has the Hondas to worry about the most as Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso who stand second and third in the Championship respectively. Historically, you can’t discount the threat of former World Champion Casey Stoner and his Ducati, but it seems that this year the Ducati doesn’t seem to have the pace of the Hondas and the Yamahas. In that sense, Stoner might not be placed well enough this year to threaten his championship but he will be eager to put race wins under his belt before the season is over.
So as the championship comes close to the halfway mark, it seems Jorge Lorenzo is the one who has it all to lose. Will he be able to keep a cool head and come to terms with his machine? Will his rivals turn the heat on to try and take advantage of his streak of historical crashes in latter half of the season? It seems that it all boils down to mind over matter because from what Lorenzo has shown so far in his career, he has the raw talent to master any track and rider when he is on song. As he comes home to race in Spain, will it be the perfection that he seems to produce so effortlessly this season or will all the demons in his head win.
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