Come In JL99..?: Aragon

It hasn’t been a tremendous season for five time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, but unfortunately neither have the last thirty-six months. He has jumped ship twice and sailed into seasons glutted with challenges and injuries. On the other side of the box, reigning World Champion and current championship leader Marc Marquez is in the prime of his life. One at the top, one at the bottom and a whole lot of team members in between trying to pick up the pieces. The 2018 Aragon GP exactly one year ago marks the last weekend we saw a fully fit Jorge Lorenzo. Since then, we have spent time trying to figure out what has provoked such a messy season.

After sustaining a T6 and T8 spinal fracture during the Assen GP this year, Lorenzo’s Honda debut has been anything but positive. Having completed a total of nine of fourteen rounds so far onboard his new bike, Lorenzo is on the back foot and not like ever before. For the first time we have seen him genuinely struggle to crack the top fifteen and his physical/mental state seems weary. During each de-brief or television appearance he has appeared detached and lacking emotion. Eye contact is limited, words are followed with heavy breaths and a blasé shrug to top it all off. Progress has been slow and in this industry patience runs short. Talks of broken contracts and rider changes are controversial when paired with a brand like Repsol Honda because their nature is to work things out with limited drama splashed across the tabloids. It is a journey that has proven to be harder than they expected. Fellow teammate Marc Marquez has continued his domination of the MotoGP class this year with eight victories (including this years Aragon GP), thirteen podiums and a shiny seat at the top of the pyramid. It is the most podium-consistent he has been prior to flyaways since his debut in the MotoGP category in 2013 where he claimed thirteen of the fourteen rounds. He is calm and strong, fully fit, has a well blended team of six years and believes in not only himself but the objective of the team and the be all end all, Honda love him.

At the beginning of the season the Repsol Honda/Jorge Lorenzo collaboration was thrilling. We were eager to see what the team could do and how Lorenzo approached taming his new beast. He had just come out of a season where he finally worked his way under Ducati’s skin and secured three victories over a two year period. But, similar to this year, the team dynamic did not mesh well. The Honda appeared to be an even larger obstacle but not impossible after his adaptation to the Ducati. However, we all know that within this sport its not just the rider or the bike or the team that makes it work. They must all blend into one. Lorenzo’s team consists of many new employees who speak several different languages, and through observation haven’t blended as well as Marquez’s team (a loss before he even started). Their workflow which naturally builds with time has been disrupted frequently and has affected the teams ability to work as a cohesive unit.

Not only that, Lorenzo’s repetitive negative attitude most weekends “My feeling on the bike was not good”, “I cannot ride confidently”, “In this season I do not think we will reach the top 5” and “In this world, there is no magic” has spread like wildfire. When the negativity cements itself within the team an unfavourable working environment cultivates which could be a reflection of their poor results, including the Aragon GP where he finished second last.The team have not had the proper chance to develop a healthy domain and ultimately an unmotivated crew gives competitors (like his teammate) the chance to take the lead. Even when he was racing in twelfth at the beginning of the Aragon GP, something still lacked and he disappeared. It is one of the most puzzling situations we’ve come across in a long time, no one really knows what is going on. The physical and mental side of this job go hand in hand, one does not favour the other. In Saturday’s qualifying press conference Marquez indirectly provided words of wisdom when attacking the Honda as a rider“If you are not fit, it is impossible to be fast on this bike. You need to be fit. It is difficult, you need to set up well and believe in your project. It is not the easiest bike of the grid but if you find that point you can be competitive”. A subtle poke at his teammate or maybe, just like that, Lorenzo lacks the undeniable belief in himself that Marquez has (something we also occasionally see in fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow). The copious amounts of injuries are just tip of the iceberg.

Lorenzo sustained not only physical injuries but mental scars that are much slower to heal. Broken bones, internal damage and Chinese whispers have raised doubts about his commitment to Honda and his future in the sport. We have witnessed ex racers like Kevin Schwantz and Mick Doohan suffer painful traumas and end their careers rather than risk further damage. Could this be a similar narrative unfolding? Could Lorenzo be so afraid of crashing that he is holding himself back from making any kind of substantial breakthrough? Mental health is not discussed nearly enough within this sport, let alone amongst men so maybe the these are signs of issues that run deeper than his ability to ride a bike. Maybe its becoming clearer that the main enemy here is Lorenzo himself and we are all just trying to guess what the next step is. I know I am.

Credit: CormacGP

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