Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero

Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero born May 4, 1987 in Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. He is a Spanish professional motorcycle road racer. He is the 2006 and 2007 250cc World Champion, and the 2010 MotoGP World Champion. He is currently a rider in the MotoGP Class, on the Factory Yamaha Team

Lorenzo made his championship debut on his fifteenth birthday, on the second qualifying day for the 2002 125cc Spanish Grand Prix, after having to miss Friday practice as he was not old enough to race. Lorenzo dominated the 2007 250cc World Championship. His nine pole positions led to nine victories in 2007, and all his 2006 poles bar Motegi led to victories in 2006.

Jorge's victory at Misano in 2007 was his 16th in the 250cc class, making him the most successful Spanish rider of all time in the 250cc GP class – with one more victory than Dani Pedrosa and Sito Pons.


On 25 August 2009, Lorenzo ended speculation surrounding a possible move to Honda or Ducati by signing a contract to race with Yamaha in the 2010 MotoGP Championship. Ducati reputedly offered him a 15 million dollar contract to take Nicky Hayden's position.

Lorenzo broke two bones in his hand in a pocket bike crash pre-season, therefore missing most of the pre-season testing. He fought through the field to finish second to Rossi in the season opener in Qatar, whilst still not fully fit.
After Rossi broke his leg in a crash at Mugello, Lorenzo became the title favourite, with a 47-point lead after four wins in the first six rounds. Victory at Assen made him only the seventh rider ever to win in 3 classes at this prestigious circuit.

During a break between the Italian and British rounds of the championship, Lorenzo rode a Yamaha in a parade lap around the world famous Snaefell Mountain Course at the Isle of Man TT. He rode alongside former World Champion Ángel Nieto, later describing the experience as 'amazing'.

Despite nearest rival Dani Pedrosa making up ground in the latter stage of the season, Lorenzo was still in control with five races remaining. Pedrosa, the only man who could still overtake Lorenzo in the standings, then suffered a broken collarbone during practice, causing him to miss the next two races and virtually guaranteeing Lorenzo would become champion. On 10 October, Lorenzo clinched the title with a third place finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix behind Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso.