Six years ago, Jorge Lorenzo left the MotoGP scene with a sense of unfinished business. The Majorcan, a three-time MotoGP world champion with Yamaha, had finally tamed the red Ducati beast in 2018... just before heading to Honda, where he experienced a forced and painful retirement. Today, at 38, the "Spartan" could well reappear in the paddock. But this time, helmet stowed and earpieces screwed on, as a personal trainer. And the most persistent rumor sends him to another talent with a thwarted destiny: Maverick Viñales.
« Consultant or coach, whatever you want to call it. I think I'd be good at that too. ", coward Lorenzo, falsely nonchalant.
An elegant way of saying that he still has lessons to teach... and perhaps a little revenge to take on an environment that has often left him wanting more. Because Lorenzo, in retracing his career, reveals a barely veiled regret: that of having left Ducati too early.
« I could have continued with Ducati and won at least one more world championship... especially after Marquez's injury »
A barely coded message to Borgo Panigale: you had the right piece of the puzzle, you let it go.
Jorge Lorenzo: Respect for Marquez, and a risky bet with Viñales?
And yet, the man who blocked his path remains, according to him, the best driver of all time. Marquez always beat his teammate. No teammate has ever beaten him. " he recalls on Motoracing. Even physically diminished since 2020, the Spaniard remains for Lorenzo " the strongest in the category " A statement which, in a paddock where some already want to bury Marquez after his new injury, sounds like a profession of faith.
If the rumor is confirmed, Lorenzo could become the new asset of Maverick Vinales, a driver as gifted as he was inconsistent, who passed through Yamaha, Aprilia and now KTM without ever translating his talent into a world title. The Majorcan knows what it's like to tame a capricious bike, to bend without breaking, to be reborn with a new project. But he also knows that the mental aspect makes the difference at this level — an area where Casa Particular in Viñales has often failed.
A return of Lorenzo in this form would have a spicy taste: the former sworn enemy of Marquez who returns to help another Spaniard reinvent himself... while continuing to settle scores with his own past.
