‘Can Lorenzo come back strong? I’m not so sure’
McGuinness reckons the former world champ has lost his spark
It’s been hard watching Lorenzo recently. Will he come back? Honestly, I don’t think he can. He’s lost that bit of killer instinct, which is what you need. But when you watch him now, it’s like he doesn’t really want it.
I hope I’m wrong because watching him on a bike is like poetry. He hits all the apexes, he’s so precise and he’s not leg trailing or backing it in – he’s an old-school, traditional fast f**ker, and during his career he’s taken things to the next level. He’s won five world titles, including three in MotoGP, and
‘MARQUEZ IS ON THE CREST OF A WAVE... JORGE IS PADDLING OUT’
he’s still the only man ever to beat Marquez to a title in the premier class. He’s definitely got the minerals.
But now he’s scratching his head, thinking ‘what have I got to do?’ He needs a re-boot and to start again. But the problem is that when you miss races all your rivals are out there on track, on fire, and then you’re expected to come back from an injury and drop straight back into it. People like Marquez are on the crest of a wave and Lorenzo is trying to paddle out and keeps getting slammed.
And now MotoGP is incredibly close, which really doesn’t help. If you’re one or two tenths a lap off, you’re nowhere. And that level of competitiveness, where the grid is separated by a second, was unheard of ten years ago. Now you could be riding an ‘uncompetitive’ Aprilia or KTM and be 18th.
It’s easy to watch the riders at the back and think ‘look at that idiot’ but in reality they’re a few tenths off the greatest rider and bike in the world. All these guys are absolutely hanging out, but at the front there is currently one guy – Marquez – making everyone else look a bit average!