Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Will the dualism that has dominated MotoGP for years find new ground for comparison between the former two-wheel champions in Gran Turismo races? Doubt is more than legitimate.
Rossi’s intentions are to start his “second career” with a Ferrari, while the Majorcan has placed his attention on the Porsche. We had intercepted Jorge at the Porsche Festival at the beginning of October and during the weekend of the penultimate round of the Carrera Cup Italia he made contact with a 911 GT3.
Jorge Lorenzo test with the 911 GT3 Cup at the Porsche Experience Center Franciacorta
Photo by: Getty Images
A ride with a road car on the Porsche Experience Center Franciacorta track, before carrying out a real test with the car that won the 2021 edition of the German single-make.
And, to tutor Lorenzo, Alberto Cerqui, the fresh champion of the series, was called. There could not have been a better teacher for the Majorcan who on November 18 allowed himself a day of testing to understand whether to return to racing on four wheels. The attitude to speed is obviously not discussed, as well as the desire to learn something new: Jorge gradually discovered the qualities of the Ghinzani team’s 911 GT3 Cup in the Q8 Hi Perform colors, having to deal with a background which was also wet at times, but the learning was quick and fruitful.
Jorge Lorenzo test with the 911 GT3 Cup at the Porsche Experience Center Franciacorta
Photo by: Getty Images
The Spaniard came within a couple of seconds of Cerqui’s reference time, constantly improving his performance. Not bad for a novice after just one day on the track. And, then, the desire was born to start a program that could lead Lorenzo to race in the Carrera Cup Italia 2022, when the 992 model will make its debut.
The ambition of the five-time world champion (two in 250 and three in MotoGP) is to become a Porsche factory rider to earn a place in the team that will participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the LMDh, the new generation prototype. .
Pietro Innocenti, CEO of Porsche Italia, during the Carrera Night which was held on Saturday evening in the magical setting of the Porsche Experience Center Franciacorta, made a clear hint of the possibility that Lorenzo could dress to become a protagonist of the Italian flagship store.
It would be the first springboard to start a new career that has a very challenging and certainly not easy goal in store, trying to retrace in the covered wheels a path traced in the past by champions such as Tazio Nuvolari, John Surtees and Mike Hailwood.
Jorge Lorenzo with Alberto Cerqui, Team Q8 Hi Perform, analyze the telemetry after the test on the 911 GT3 Cup
Photo by: Getty Images
Two MotoGP champions who came out of the premier category of the MotoGP after hanging up their helmets, start from scratch chasing another dream: to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It will be interesting to follow this challenge from a distance to find out who will be the first to win this “derby” that comes out of the comfort zone of the two riders.
Lorenzo’s idea in Porsche is tempting the Stuttgart company, which looks at this interesting experiment with great benevolence. Jorge is a professional on two wheels, but in the car he must demonstrate that he has the same talent shown in MotoGP. The Iberian’s ambitious project is attracting a lot of attention and could find the support of sponsors interested in following this “road to Le Mans” …
Jorge Lorenzo in the 911 GT3 Cup on a wet track
Photo by: Claudia Cavalleri
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