Jorge Lorenzo freewheeling right between … the two and four wheels. Including the strict topicality of the MotoGP in Sepang, where according to the Majorcan, no Ducati orders have influenced Enea Bastianini’s race. Lorenzo ended his first season of car racing last weekend at Mugello Circuit for the final round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia.
During the year he also had the opportunity to appear in Supercup (which he would not mind repeating at all), but in the Porsche Italia series he was a constant and constantly rising protagonist on the 911 GT3 Cup of the Q8 Hi Perform Team, so much so that even those who wrinkled their noses before he took on the role of a car driver are becoming convinced that the three-time MotoGP champion has the means to reach the top even in motor racing.
How high is a different matter: at the moment it is impossible to predict, even if the more “technical” judgments in the Porsche environment underline a good potential, also describing him as a “very brave” driver.
It is therefore by no means excluded that Lorenzo’s career will continue for a long time, perhaps long enough to be able to see him again in battle with his old rivals on motorcycles, Valentino Rossi in the lead, this time at the wheel.
At Mugello, meanwhile, the Majorcan spoke of his probable presence in Carrera Cup Italia also in 2023, determined to reap the fruits of what he sowed this year, where in the final part he has always been the protagonist in the top-10, touching the top- 5 in the race.
At Monza in qualifying he arrived just two tenths from pole position. At Mugello, last weekend, six tenths of a second. These are non-trivial findings after only one year of apprenticeship as an absolute rookie: “In Monza – Lorenzo starts from this aspect – it was complicated, especially for the chicanes, and I did the best qualifying of the season; at Mugello the gap was a bit bigger, but it was still a good qualifying “.
At Mugello you took almost two seconds in July, in October you are six tenths …
“The concentration and consistency are there, now it fails to understand the last secrets of this Porsche, the ones that have the strongest. If I can then we really have fun. “
What are the plans for the future?
“The possibilities are open but the truth is that I am grateful for the support of Q8 and Porsche, so the Carrera Cup Italia is confirmed at 99% for another year. If I can maybe also do the Supercup I would be happy because it would allow me to gain a lot of experience and many kilometers to get to the Carrera Cup much better prepared. My main goal is to do well here. “
So is another year necessary for the last step forward?
“It’s all a question of testing, if I can do a lot of them I’ll certainly be competitive.”
Is there anything you learned this year while driving in a car?
“Nothing in particular. I already knew that each discipline requires time and experience. If you don’t have them, miracles cannot be done. But as in everything in life, if you have desire, discipline and passion, in the end you reach the goal. “
And about these three factors, do you still feel 100%?
“Yup. It’s a different environment here. Not of absolute pressure as I lived in MotoGP, where my life changed if I did well or badly. But it is clear that with more experience and more kilometers I will be able to win races in the car too. “
After all, it’s always a question of competition …
“Let’s say that I feel more or less the same sensations, but with less risk.”
But who is the current rider who most resembles you in MotoGP?
“I think that both Bagnaia and Martin and Quartarano have a bit of me in certain aspects, so I would say a mix between the three of them.”
Bagnaia for which particular feature?
“Bagnaia is very elegant in his movements, very precise, his trajectories are very round. Martin is very explosive in the first laps as I did with Yamaha and Ducati and Quartararo, for the way he rides the Yamaha, a bike I’ve ridden for a long time, he is very similar to me in terms of riding style and how he exhibits himself from the bike. “
Have you seen the Sepang race?
“Yup.”
Did you like it?
“It was beautiful. A lot of tension in the Ducati garage because Bastianini seemed like he didn’t respect Bagnaia for the championship fight, he wanted to win the race. Luckily for them nothing happened and Bagnaia won in the end. I really liked Quartararo, because with a very ‘fanned’ bike (means unstable, ed) he fought until the end to reach Valencia, even if 99% of Bagnaia will be champion. “
Do you think Bastianini “respected” Bagnaia by order of the team at the end?
“No. He wanted to win, he didn’t succeed. “
But will your “roaring” years ever return to MotoGP, with so many champions all together?
“MotoGP is competitive, in fact all the bikes, except Honda, have won races. There are many drivers fighting, but there is no leader who wins with authority, a factor that gives importance to the championship. There is also a lack of people getting closer to the riders, they are not yet used to it, and certainly the aerodynamics affects too much, prevents more overtaking. Finally, it lacks a bit of character, the current riders don’t have the character that we 4 or 5 had. “
You will continue in motoring, you could also achieve excellent results, but what will Jorge Lorenzo do when he grows up? Will he stay in the racing world?
“Pilot only. When I stop driving cars, I think you’ll see me doing another job. I like to drive, I like to feel the passion of competitions, but precisely as a driver, otherwise I prefer to go on vacation all year round (joking, ed)! “
But is it because there are too many responsibilities or perhaps too much politics?
“No. Just because I don’t like having obligations. I like having a lot of free time and therefore as a team manager or sporting director I would have very little of it … “
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