Jorge goes all F1 in private test

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo made his Formula One test debut in Mercedes’ 2014 world championship-winning W05 at Silverstone on October 6.

Lorenzo, who has three MotoGP titles to his name, got behind the wheel of the same F1 car that Lewis Hamilton used to secure his second world championship in 2014, around the British Grand Prix circuit’s International layout.

The event was supported by Monster Energy, which sponsors both the Spaniard and the German team. Having only had a small amount of previous four-wheel motorsport experience, Lorenzo drove a number of less-powerful cars at Silverstone in preparation for the test. No times were released from Lorenzo’s outing in the F1 car.

“It’s been an amazing day,” said the factory Yamaha man.

“I’m very satisfied with the lap time in the last run. From what the engineers were saying, my times were really competitive.”

Mercedes track engineer Richard Lane said working with Lorenzo had been a “great” experience: “From the moment he arrived he’s been full of enthusiasm and keen to get stuck in. Between each run he’s been poring over the data, and looking to find areas for improvement. You can see why he’s a multiple world champion on two wheels.

“His interest in the detail of his performance has been impressive. He’s taken feedback on board and improved with every run.”

Lorenzo added: “The car is so smooth, I expected a more twitchy and difficult car but in the end everything was so good: the steering wheel, the engine, everything. It was quite easy to drive and the car in the corners is really, really fast and the grip of the car... it’s unreal. In the first lap you feel the power but when you get used to it, it’s similar to a MotoGP bike but in the corners, you are in a different world, about 40km/h faster when in the middle of the corners.

“It also surprised me how late you can brake, and the amount of grip the car can support in full throttle in the fast corners is insane.” His first full time entry onto the world stage was with RW Racing GP in 2012, and he took 24 points in a solid rookie season, using that as a foundation for the year after. The South African moved to Ambrogio Racing for 2013 and started to make inroads in the top 10 on a regular basis, including a fourth-place finish in Jerez from fourth on the grid.

Binder first made the podium on the world championship stage in 2014; he bagged a total of 109 points during the season.

More fastest laps and more podiums followed in 2015 with his new home at KTM, and he finished sixth overall in the championship.

Beginning the year with three podiums in a row and a pole position in Argentina, it was at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez where he took his maiden win. Starting from the back of the grid after a technical infringement, the South African fought his way back, soon heading the second group on the way to catching the front freight train in the Moto3 battle.

Arriving with laps to spare, the 2016 Moto3 world champion then passed his rivals and tucked back in – taking the victory by a comfortable margin.

Four more wins, three more pole positions and a 106-point margin on arrival to the Aragón race in September saw Binder with his first mathematical shot at the title.

With only 100 points left to play for after MotorLand, the South African only had to see the flag on Sunday with an advantage of the same points total or more – with the pressure on rivals Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3) and Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) to push for the victory for a chance to take the title fight to the flyway races which see out the calendar year.

With Bastianini and Navarro initially breaking away at the front, the South African kept himself in it and laid it on the line into the final corner – not quite enough for the victory, but more than enough for the championship as he crossed the line only 0.030s behind winner Navarro.

Binder is the first man ever to be crowned at MotorLand Aragón, becoming the third South African champion.