In MotoGP as elsewhere, the little innuendoes sometimes make the big stories. So, at Yamaha, regarding the constitution of the Rossi–Lorenzo couple. We will remember that the first city had a bad experience with the young Majorcan's commitment, to the point of putting up a wall to separate his side of the box from the other. Now that there is a statute of limitations, with the retirement of the younger of the two, Lin Jarvis returns to this episode, recalling that it was indeed the Doctor who was the trigger…
The passage of Jorge Lorenzo on the planet MotoGP has left its mark. And wrote part of the story. He won the 44 victories and Yamaha's last three world titles. From 2008 to 2016, the Spaniard drove for the Japanese brand. The team director Lynn Jarvis remembers her foal who became a thoroughbred: “ If you ask me how I would describe him in one word, I'll use stubborn. " He adds : " he was hard on himself, hard on his opponents and a great champion. »
Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Lorenzo have each won three world titles with Yamaha. Valentino Rossi was a four-time champion with the brand in tune. In 2008, Lorenzo replaced Colin Edwards, who joined the satellite team Tech 3. Por Fuera did not miss his arrival with a pole position and a victory after three Grands Prix.
But why this recruitment? “ It's an interesting story "Says Jarvis. “ Valentino joined us in 2004 and we won two championships and almost won the title in 2006. Valentino was seriously considering moving into motorsport and was at risk of leaving us. »
« So we had to look for someone who could succeed Valentino, which of course was not easy. You need extraordinary talent and a killer instinct, as we saw in Jorge in the intermediate categories. This is what drew our attention to him and we started talks »Adds Jarvis.
After his first three races in MotoGP, Lorenzo was at the top of the ranking tied with Dani Pedrosa. " It seemed he was unbeatable ", remember Jarvis. " Then he had this serious accident in China where he broke both ankles, but he didn't abandon the meeting. We pushed him to the bike in a wheelchair and he finished fourth. »
After China, in the next race, more accidents and injuries occurred. In the second half of the season, only two more podiums followed. Lorenzo recovered. In 2009 he was in the running for the scepter and in 2010 for the first time world champion. In the early years there were a lot of duels on and off the track with his teammate Red.
« We won the Triple Crown three times in a row and there was a lot of competition. It was not easy. The teammate was the biggest daily rival. I have learned a lot during these years and I think that Jorge too and Valentino have learned a lot »Comments Lynn Jarvis.
2012 and 2015 were followed by two more world titles. Lorenzo is to this day the only driver to have won a title under the era Marquez. “ He is a perfectionist and will always look for the limit ", precise Jarvis. " He was special and he is one of the best champions we have seen in MotoGP ».
This successful career is now over. For Jarvis, this withdrawal was not a surprise: “ Jorge had a lot of problems this year and during the races abroad he found that something was missing and he didn't have confidence in the bike. »
