Many observers wrote him off by the mid-point of the 2014 season, but Jorge Lorenzo battled back and by season’s end had proved he was still a force in MotoGP. Now, he’s training hard to regain his title.
Lorenzo’s third-place finish in the 2014 overall standings was the first time since 2008 that he finished outside the top two in MotoGP; going back to his 250 cc two-stroke days, he hasn’t finished outside the top two since 2005. That’s a long history of winning, and now he’s anxious to return to the top.
Lorenzo started the 2014 campaign a bit banged up, and as a result, his conditioning wasn’t where it needed to be. He’s training at a 70 per cent level now, he told his fan club this week, but he’s going to be ramping things up quickly after Christmas.
“From January we’ll be back to maximum power to be better at the beginning of the season. I am looking forward to first relaxing and then to training very hard,” he said.
“When you are already a World Champion in MotoGP, you want to repeat it. Second place is good, third place is good, but obviously we are here to try and win. We know it is not going to be easy because Marquez and Honda together are very strong; they are a very strong couple. But I think if we put in all of our efforts – if the Yamaha is good and so am I, from both a physical and mental side – I think I can fight.”
