Chicho Lorenzo, father of the illustrious Jorge, makes his assessments before the season begins in Qatar in less than ten days. In his show 'Motogepeando' which is on the YouTube channel, he looked at the four riders who will a priori be on the bike that the entire field fears this year, the GP22. But if the quartet will have the same machine, its level is frankly not considered identical by the Spaniard. The proof…
boy lorenzo went with his usual frankness in this clan rating operation Ducati GP22 version. To be honest, if the Spaniard has a crush on George Martin et Pecco Bagnaia, he has no illusions about Jack Miller which has Johann zarco... Let's start with the good notes with first the one who signed for two more years in the red suit, the vice-world champion MotoGP 2021 Pecco Bagnaia : " without a doubt he is the pilot of the future » he said. “ This is a driver whose best thing he did last year was fix some issues he had in 2020. He found a way to not crash again by starting first. The ghosts came back sometimes, but there were other times in which not only did he not fall but he also managed to lead a race very well. And one with Márquez behind the whole race, everything has to be very well controlled to be able to move forward successfully in a situation like this ».
« So, what steps remains for him to take? » questions boy lorenzo. “ Technically on the bike, he is a very good rider who rides very finely, very technically. He advances very well, he has very clear things in fights and he is a very fast guy. He achieved a few poles in a row. So what small step is left? The first thing, don't back down, it's very important. If he can take a step forward, without a doubt, with the complicity of Dall'Igna, he will certainly carry the weight of Ducati's development. Especially considering Dall'Igna's urgent need to finally have a winning driver. There is no lack of imagination in Dall'Igna and no lack of quality in Bagnaia, we must hope that they will take a step forward, that they will release a new invention that will shock the Japanese. If he goes in the same direction as last year and doesn't fall again while riding in front, it will make things very difficult for Fabio Quartararo and Marc Márquez ».
However, he could face added pressure this season by being identified as the favorite for the title: “ what can it mean for him to not take this pressure… It can mean mistakes for him to fall, like the one that happened when he fell in Misano. Regardless, I have great confidence in Pecco. I can clearly see that, if he continues to evolve at the pace at which he has evolved, and this denotes intelligence because sometimes it is difficult for pilots to find their way, I think he can become one of these drivers who regularly fight for championships, which mark a period of five or six years. He will be one of the drivers who will win titles, I am convinced of it ».
An equally bright future is promised to George Martin : " last year he did a fabulous job. He had a few pole positions, a victory, several podiums. And, above all, he showed that he arrived without complexes and that he is a hyper-focused and hyper-motivated driver. He has a beastly physique. He uses it a lot with his aggressive riding style. And, most importantly, these levers help him get those poles and which are so physically demanding that he can only do one turn ».
Chicho Lorenzo: “ Johann Zarco has never shown himself to be intelligent »
« He is a driver with good starts, not always, but he has had good starts. Last year he made some extraordinary starts » he continues on the Pramac pilot. However, there is still work to be done: “ what I see in him is that he has strengths in a still low percentage of races His step forward is to achieve this performance in a much higher percentage of races ". Another weak point that he considers to be improved, the sudden falls of the Madrilenian. “ In Martín, I see a very weak point. It's when he enters a state of euphoria, when things are going well for him and these states of euphoria end badly for him. Because what's more, when he falls, he breaks a lot of bones. And it hurts, because these are high-speed falls. I think it's something that comes from his whole sporting career. He has an extraordinary ease which means that when things are going well, he lets his guard down. So, this leads to falls and falls suddenly, getting injured. He's a pilot who's broken a lot of bones. He even commented last year that after this fall in Portimao, where he broke 9 bones and underwent operations for many hours straight, it crossed his mind to stop. Then he came back and he came back stronger. You must learn to control this “short” euphoria. For me there is work, you need to solve this problem. He's shown so much, but here he has a weak link ».
Since we are talking about the weak link, it is time to address cases of Jack Miller and Johann zarco…On the Australian, Chicho Lorenzo is merciless: “ I think he's already reached his ceiling. In this sports performance curve that drivers have, I think it is already in decline. We have already seen the best and the worst too. The two faces of a driver who, unless a miracle happens, and the door to miracles in sport is always open, he is already going down. He will have had a good time, he will have won a lot of money and that's it, his sporting career will end. It will always be interesting for Dorna to have an Australian driver, but now another one is coming who comes with more solidity and a lot more seriousness ».
He ends on Johann zarco where the Spaniard does not even show cruelty: “ in Johann Zarco, I never had much faith or hope. I think he is nearing the end of his career because he is a 30 year old pilot. And besides, he never showed himself to be intelligent. It’s also very irregular. ". Merciless, Jorge's father.
