Jorge Lorenzo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jorge Lorenzo
Lorenzo in 2019
Nationality	Spanish
Born	(1987-05-04) 4 May 1987 (age 38) Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2008–2019 Manufacturers Yamaha (2008–2016) Ducati (2017–2018) Honda (2019) Championships 3 (2010, 2012, 2015) 2019 championship position 19th (28 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 203 47 114 43 30 2899 250cc World Championship Active years 2005–2007 Manufacturers Honda (2005) Aprilia (2006–2007) Championships 2 (2006, 2007) 2007 championship position 1st (312 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 48 17 29 23 4 768 125cc World Championship Active years 2002–2004 Manufacturers Derbi Championships 0 2004 championship position 4th (179 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 46 4 9 3 3 279

Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (born May 4, 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion. He won three MotoGP World Championships in 2010, 2012, and 2015. He also won two 250cc World Championships in 2006 and 2007.

After winning the 250cc titles, Lorenzo joined the factory Yamaha team in 2008. In his first year, he was named "rookie of the year." He finished 4th in the championship and won a race in Portugal. He spent nine successful seasons with Yamaha from 2008 to 2016. During this time, he won three championships and finished second three times. In 2013, he won eight races, which is a lot for a rider who didn't win the title that year. He was only four points behind Marc Marquez.

Lorenzo moved to the Ducati team in 2017. He had a tough first year, getting only three podium finishes. He ended up 7th in the championship. In 2018, he improved and won three races. These wins were in Mugello, Catalunya, and Austria. He also finished 2nd in Brno. In 2019, he joined Repsol Honda, but it was a difficult year. He decided to retire at the end of that season.

With 47 wins in the top class, Lorenzo is 5th on the list of all-time premier class race winners. In 2022, he was added to the MotoGP Hall of Fame as an official Legend. Even after retiring from motorcycle racing, Lorenzo still competes in motorsports. He raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia in 2022 and 2023. He also raced in the Porsche Supercup and the Italian GT Championship. Plus, he sometimes works as a commentator for MotoGP races.

Motorcycle Racing Career

Early Years: 125cc and 250cc Championships

Lorenzo started his championship journey on his 15th birthday. This was during the qualifying for the 2002 125cc Spanish Grand Prix. He had missed practice because he wasn't old enough to race yet.

He was amazing in the 2007 250cc World Championship. He started from the best position (pole position) nine times. This led to him winning nine races that year. His win at Misano in 2007 was his 16th in the 250cc class. This made him the most successful Spanish rider ever in that class. He had one more win than Dani Pedrosa and Sito Pons.

MotoGP World Championship Debut

After rumors about him joining Yamaha for MotoGP in 2008, it was confirmed on July 25, 2007. He would race alongside Valentino Rossi for two years.

2008: A Strong Start and Challenges

Lorenzo during pre-season testing at Jerez

Lorenzo began his MotoGP career very well. He finished 2nd in the Qatar night race after starting from pole position. He then got pole in Jerez, Spain and finished 3rd. In Estoril, Portugal, he started from pole again and won his first race in the top class. He became the youngest rider to finish on the podium in his first three MotoGP races.

At this point, Lorenzo was tied for first place in the championship. However, on May 1, 2008, he crashed during practice for the China Grand Prix. He hurt his left ankle and fractured a bone in his right foot. Even with injuries, he finished the race in 4th place. Two weeks later, at Le Mans, he crashed twice in practice but still finished 2nd. The next race at Mugello, he crashed during the race. In Barcelona, he had his fifth crash in four races, which made him miss the race.

After many injuries, he rode more carefully at Donington Park and Assen, finishing 6th in both. He said he felt stronger later in races when the bike had less fuel. At Sachsenring, he crashed again in very wet conditions. He got more foot injuries at the USGP in Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on July 20. He crashed on the first lap, breaking three bones in his left foot. Despite all these challenges, he finished 2nd at Misano and 3rd at Indianapolis. He ended the season in 4th place overall.

2009: Chasing the Title

Lorenzo at the 2009 Indianapolis Grand Prix

In 2009, Lorenzo stayed with Yamaha. He started the season well with two wins in Motegi and Le Mans. He also had two more podium finishes in the first five races, leading the championship. But then Valentino Rossi took the lead from him at the Catalan Grand Prix.

A crash during qualifying at Laguna Seca caused Lorenzo to fracture a bone in his right foot. He also bruised bones in both ankles and hurt his right collarbone. Later crashes in wet conditions at the British Grand Prix and in Brno hurt his chances for the title. He was 50 points behind Rossi. He won at Indianapolis when both Rossi and Pedrosa crashed, which cut his gap to Rossi to 25 points. A first-corner crash with Nicky Hayden in Australia further damaged his title hopes. Rossi won the championship by finishing third in Malaysia.

2010: Becoming World Champion

On August 25, 2009, Lorenzo decided to stay with Yamaha for the 2010 MotoGP Championship. He had been offered a large contract by Ducati, but chose to remain with his team.

Lorenzo at the 2010 British Grand Prix

Before the season, Lorenzo broke two bones in his hand in a small bike crash. This made him miss most of the practice sessions. Still, he fought hard to finish second behind Rossi in the first race in Qatar. When Rossi broke his leg in a crash at Mugello, Lorenzo became the favorite to win the title. He had a 47-point lead after winning four of the first six races. His win at Assen made him one of only seven riders to win in three different classes at that famous track.

Even though Dani Pedrosa caught up later in the season, Lorenzo was still in control with five races left. Pedrosa, the only rider who could still beat Lorenzo, then broke his collarbone during practice. This made him miss two races, almost guaranteeing Lorenzo the championship. On October 10, Lorenzo won the title by finishing third at Sepang.

2011: Injuries and Second Place

Lorenzo at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix

Lorenzo started the 2011 season with four podium finishes in the first five races. This included a win at the Spanish Grand Prix. He benefited from a crash between Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, winning the race by almost twenty seconds. He led the championship until the British Grand Prix, where he crashed in wet conditions. After finishing sixth at Assen, Lorenzo then finished in the top four in the next eight races, winning two of them. These wins were at Mugello and Misano.

Lorenzo's season ended with a crash during warm-up for the Australian Grand Prix. He injured his finger and had surgery in Melbourne to fix it. The surgery was successful, and he didn't lose any function in his finger or hand. Stoner won the championship at that event. Lorenzo stayed in second place until the end of the season. This was partly because the Malaysian Grand Prix was canceled after the death of Marco Simoncelli.

2012: Another Championship Title

Lorenzo returned to racing in Qatar. He started from pole position and won the race. After two second-place finishes, Lorenzo won the next two races at Le Mans and Cataluña. This gave him a 20-point lead over Casey Stoner.

Before the British Grand Prix, Lorenzo signed a new two-year contract with Yamaha. He extended his championship lead to 25 points by winning the race ahead of Stoner. After being taken out of the Dutch TT by Álvaro Bautista and finishing second at the Sachsenring, Lorenzo got his fifth win of the season at Mugello. This extended his lead to 19 points over Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo finally won his second title at Phillip Island by finishing 2nd. This was also helped by Stoner's crash and injury, which made him miss three races.

2013: A Close Battle

Lorenzo started the season as the defending World Champion. He was teammates with Valentino Rossi again. He fought for the championship with Repsol Honda riders Marc Márquez and Dani Pedrosa. He won races in Losail, Mugello, Misano, Catalunya, Silverstone, Phillip Island, Motegi, and Valencia. However, he missed the race at the Sachsenring due to an injury. He finished second in the championship, just 4 points behind Márquez.

2014: A Season of Comebacks

Lorenzo at the 2014 French Grand Prix

Lorenzo started the 2014 season slowly. He crashed in Qatar and finished tenth in Austin. He got his first podium of the season in Argentina. At the halfway point, he was 128 points behind the leader, Marc Márquez.

In the second half of the season, Lorenzo got four second-place finishes in a row. His first win of the season came in a wet race at Aragon. He then won the next race in Motegi. For most of the season, Lorenzo was in a close fight with his teammate Rossi and Dani Pedrosa for second place overall. He finished third in the championship behind Márquez and Rossi.

2015: Third MotoGP Title

Lorenzo started the 2015 season with fourth and fifth place finishes. Then, he won four races in a row for the first time in his career. These wins were at Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello, and Barcelona. These results moved him into second place in the championship, just one point behind his teammate Rossi.

He then finished third at Assen and second at Indianapolis. He got his fifth win of the season at Brno. He finished fourth in wet conditions at Silverstone and crashed out at Misano.

Lorenzo achieved his sixth win of the season at the Aragon Grand Prix. This cut his championship gap to Rossi to 14 points. In Japan, Rossi extended his lead to eighteen points. In Australia, Lorenzo was passed for the lead on the last lap by Márquez. However, with Rossi in fourth, Lorenzo cut the championship lead to eleven points. He cut the lead further to seven points after a second-place finish in Malaysia. Rossi finished third after a collision with Márquez, which led to Rossi starting from the back of the grid for the final race. Rossi moved up to fourth in the race, but Lorenzo won the race and took the championship by five points. This was his fifth world title overall.

2016: Final Year with Yamaha

Lorenzo in 2017

Lorenzo started the 2016 season by winning from pole position in Qatar. In the next three races, he didn't win and fell behind Marc Márquez in the title race. Before the Spanish Grand Prix, Lorenzo announced he would leave Yamaha to join Ducati. Two wins in France and Italy put him back in front of the championship. But then his performance dropped for the next five races. At Misano, Lorenzo set a new qualifying lap record to get his 64th career pole position. He finished 3rd at Misano and 2nd at the Aragon Grand Prix. However, he crashed at the Japanese Grand Prix while running in 2nd place, allowing Marquez to win the championship. He finished the season at Valencia with a qualifying lap record and his 65th career pole, winning his final race with Yamaha.

2017: Moving to Ducati

In the 2017 season, Lorenzo switched from Yamaha to Ducati. He had trouble getting used to the new bike at first. He didn't win any races that season, which was his first winless year in the top class since 2005. However, he still got three podium finishes and ended up seventh in the overall standings.

2018: Wins with Ducati

After a tough start to the season, Lorenzo's contract was not renewed for 2019. He then went on to win three races quickly and got several pole positions. Lorenzo won his first Ducati race in Italy at Mugello. This was Lorenzo's sixth win at that track and ended his longest winless streak in MotoGP. He then won again at the Circuit de Catalunya, which was his first back-to-back win since 2016.

Lorenzo's third win of 2018 was in Austria at the Red Bull Ring. He beat Honda's Marc Márquez by a very small margin. After a crash that broke a bone in his foot at the Aragon Grand Prix, Lorenzo missed several races. This was the start of a series of serious injuries that continued into his time at Honda.

2019: Retirement

On June 6, 2018, it was announced that Lorenzo would join Repsol Honda Team for two years, replacing Dani Pedrosa. Despite a tough start to the season, Lorenzo felt the Honda bike was improving for his riding style. However, at the Catalan GP, he caused a crash that took out Valentino Rossi, Maverick Viñales, and Andrea Dovizioso.

Mugello 2019

At the Assen GP, Lorenzo crashed during practice and fractured a vertebra. This injury made him miss the next three races. When he returned, he said he was riding with a lot of pain.

Le Mans 2019

On November 14, 2019, Lorenzo announced his retirement from racing at age 32. This was at a special press conference during the last race of the season. He finished the season in 19th place with only 28 points, his worst season ever. It was also his first season in the top class without a single podium finish.

2020: Test Rider Role

In January 2020, Lorenzo was confirmed as the lead test rider for the Yamaha Factory Racing European test team. He was supposed to make a special "wildcard" appearance in a race that year, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, Lorenzo said he decided not to make a full comeback with Ducati for the 2021 season.

Celebrations

Lorenzo became known for his fun celebrations after winning races. These included pretending to be a spaceman, jumping into the lake at the Jerez circuit, and having Nintendo's Mario brothers characters appear trackside.

Rivalries

When he was a 250cc champion, Lorenzo was known for being very aggressive when racing. He was even suspended from a race in Malaysia in 2005 for this. In the Fiat Yamaha team, he had a strong rivalry with his teammate Valentino Rossi.

In 2011, Lorenzo was seen arguing with fellow rider Marco Simoncelli. Lorenzo felt Simoncelli was riding dangerously. Simoncelli reminded Lorenzo of his own past suspension for aggressive riding. Lorenzo said, "If it doesn't come from you again there will be no problem." Simoncelli replied, "I will be arrested," to which an angry Lorenzo said, "This is no joke, we are playing with our lives here." Simoncelli sadly died later that year after a crash in Malaysia.

Life After Motorcycle Racing

Sportscar Racing

Lorenzo has started racing sports cars. He joined the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia in 2022 and 2023. He also raced as a guest driver in the Porsche Supercup. He said he loves challenges, and car racing is a big one. In 2024, he signed a deal to race an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the Italian GT Championship.

Isle of Man TT Visit

Lorenzo joins second-place Ryan Farquhar and 2010 Senior TT winner Ian Hutchinson on the podium, following Hutchinson's historic fifth victory at the 2010 Isle of Man TT.

In 2010, during a break in his MotoGP season, Lorenzo rode a Yamaha in a parade lap around the famous Snaefell Mountain Course at the Isle of Man TT. He rode with former World Champion Ángel Nieto and called the experience "amazing." After the main race, Lorenzo helped with the awards ceremony. He presented garlands to the top three finishers, including the winner, Ian Hutchinson.

Personal Life and Interests

Lorenzo was born in Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. In 2010, he helped Oxfam support victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

A character named Jorge in the video game Halo: Reach is named after him. This happened because Lorenzo wore a helmet at the 2009 Valencian Grand Prix that looked like a helmet from Halo 3: ODST. Lorenzo also wore helmets sponsored by the Call of Duty video game series in 2013 and 2014.

He wore protective gear from Dainese from 2005 to 2010, and then from Alpinestars from 2011 onwards. In 2013, a corner at the Circuito de Jerez racetrack was renamed "Curva Lorenzo" in his honor.

In 2015, a phone company called Zopo Mobile released a smartphone endorsed by Lorenzo. In 2020, he was on a Spanish celebrity singing show called Mask Singer. In 2021, he became a brand ambassador for Super Soco, an electric scooter company. In 2022, he started working as a MotoGP race commentator for DAZN in Spain.

Career Statistics Summary

Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing

By Season

By Class

Car Racing Records

Career Summary

^† Guest driver ineligible to score points.

See also

In Spanish: Jorge Lorenzo para niños