Lorenzo back to Ducati?
‘What Ducati need is a rider committed to taking the title’
Andrea Dovizioso and Ducati remain locked in tense negotiations for 2021 and beyond. And this, combined with the perceived lack of confidence of Gigi Dall’Igna in the Italian rider, means that Ducati’s door has been left ajar for Jorge Lorenzo to return to the team he rode and won for two seasons ago. For his part, the Spanish rider remains hesitant. His motivation for any return would be to erase the disappointment with which he left the World Championship last year. And he remains absolutely convinced that he is still competitive.
Meanwhile, at Ducati there are those who are in favour of re-signing the 33-year-old, while others regard any such move as not only risky, but foolish. It’s true that Lorenzo is a three-time MotoGP Champion, and a rider that was able to beat Marquez fair and square on occasions riding the Desmosedici. But it’s also true that his last season at Honda was a disaster and that he confessed to retiring because he got scared of getting seriously hurt after a series of heavy falls. And if his posts on social media are anything to go by, he appears to be relishing life as an ex-rider.
And one more point: is Lorenzo’s determination to demonstrate he is still a winning rider what Ducati really need right now? The team already have that with Dovizioso. What Ducati actually need is a rider completely committed and obsessed with winning the championship, not only a few GPs to boost their ego.