MotoGP fans who were missing their doses of Lorenzo Land should be happy with this latest announcement from the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team, as Jorge Lorenzo has been confirmed to race at the Catalan GP.
The Spanish test rider for the Yamaha MotoGP squad will be a wildcard entry for the Catalunya race, an idea that was first floated when Lorenzo signed with the factory outfit last year, thus not making this too big of a surprise.
Last season though certainly was full of surprises. First, Jorge Lorenzo did a masterful job of hiding his defection to the Repsol Honda team, after beginning to see the light onboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP18.
There were high hopes in the HRC camp at the time, with the factory Honda team holding in its grasp the reigning world champion Marc Marquez on one side of the garage, and Jorge Lorenzo on the other side – who also happened to be the only man ever to win a championship while Marquez has been in the premier class.
That dream team never panned out for Repsol Honda though, as Lorenzo never found his pace on the Honda RC213V. A series of injuries also plagued the Spaniard as well, which left him shaken, and wondering why he was risking body and life for such meager results.
Before the season-closer at Valencia last year, Lorenzo announced that he would be hanging up his racing leathers.
But then, a trickle of news started, speculating on what the three-time MotoGP champion would do next. Commentate for TV? Test ride for a factory? Ride off in the sunset?
Soon we knew he would take on the job as Yamaha factory test rider, and Lorenzo’s social media posts were once again flooded with him in the gym, working on his racer physique.
Now we see that Lorenzo cannot resist the siren’s song of MotoGP racing, and he will once again race upon the Yamaha YZR-M1 race bike.
To be fair, it is not uncommon to see a factory test rider wildcarding at an event, but with Lorenzo, one can’t help but wonder if there isn’t just the tiniest thought about a return to the big show.
The answer to that thought might be tied to the results we see in Barcelona. Stay tuned.
Source: Monster Yamaha
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