When, at the end of the 2018 season, Canal+ arrived with fanfare to broadcast the MotoGP Grands Prix in place of Eurosport, the figurehead of its system was called Marina Lorenzo, a figure then unknown in the paddock.
A somewhat surprising decision but it was necessary to create a new structure from scratch, alongside the well-established system of Formula 1. Although more experienced in football, the journalist therefore rolled up her sleeves, making a first concrete appearance on the Grands Prix at the end of the 2018 season before diving into the deep end in 2019.
The integration into the paddock went perfectly, the professionalism of Marina Lorenzo, sober and without sentimentality, opening the doors of all teams to him with kindness and sincerity.
The journalist from Saint-Étienne therefore knew how to make her mark alongside David Dumain, Randy de Puniet, Sylvain Guintoli, Laurent Rigal, Louis Rossi et Jules Danilo, but, surprise, after having ensured the initial period of a strongly delayed 2020 MotoGP season, she left the Canal + group during the year to join the Sino-Spanish group Mediapro, new acquirer of the majority of Ligue 1 rights and the Football Champions League.
During a river interview published on GQ, she explains : “I was a little disconcerted at first, I admit. I knew it was a world of enthusiasts, like F1. The challenge of slipping into this seemed quite enormous to me. But hey, when you're in a company, sometimes you're told that's how it happens. So you have to find the positive side of things and… go for it. In the end, it wasn't so bad, I was entrusted with a new product, which they wanted to capitalize on. And I always liked being at the start of a project. I spent six months reading Valentino Rossi's biography, information on the world of motorcycling, GP Magazine.
I actually traveled a lot and it was sometimes complicated. It was the experience that made me realize that I needed to take matters into my own hands. I collapsed a bit physically after this motorcycle year. In 2018-2019, it was tough. This couldn't go on any longer. I had to leave Canal. Family life, health, personal well-being… I was exhausted, I didn't really know what the meaning of it all was anymore. But Mediapro arrived at that moment, it was perfect. »
Marina Lorenzo is officiating today on Amazon Prime Video alongside Thierry Henry in the show “ Dimanche Soir Football “. In the Canal+ MotoGP system, it was replaced by Jules Deremble.
