Jorge Lorenzo shifts to Ducati for 2017 MotoGP season

  • Apr 19, 2016
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Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo has confirmed that he has signed a two year contract with Ducati starting from 2017 season. This ends the eight year partnership between Yamaha and Lorenzo which witnessed the Spanish rider win three championship titles

Jorge Lorenzo

The worst kept secret of the 2016 season of MotoGP is finally out. Jorge Lorenzo will shift to Ducati Racing for the 2017 edition of MotoGP. The Spanish rider’s current team Yamaha sent out a release to confirm the shift to the Italian outfit. This announcement ends the eight year relationship between Lorenzo and the Japanese manufacturer with whom he started his premiere class career in 2008. Lorenzo has had a great run with Yamaha as he has won 41 races and clinched three championship titles. The switch to Ducati doesn’t really come as a surprise, as despite winning the championship, the Spanish rider felt that his team-mate Valentino Rossi was the blue eyed boy for Yamaha. 

At the start of the 2016 season, Rossi extended his contract with the Japanese team while Lorenzo didn’t. This signalled the fact that all wasn’t well between Lorenzo and Yamaha. In a press conference when Rossi was asked whether Lorenzo will move to Ducati or not, the Italian rider in typical fashion replied that he didn’t think so as it would require lot of courage to switch to Ducati from a championship winning team. The above statement and the fact that Ducati now under the ownership of Audi will be paying the Spanish rider handsomely seemed to have urged Lorenzo to make the move. 

Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi

It needs to be noted that Valentino Rossi also had switched to Ducati from Yamaha few years back after being trampled by Lorenzo as the numero uno rider for Yamaha. It was a disastrous move for Rossi as he failed to win a single race for Ducati and had two miserable seasons with what was labelled as the “Italian dream team”. Many experts pointed out that the Desmosedici was the most difficult bike to ride on the grid and only Casey Stoner was the only rider who managed to tame the Italian beast as he recorded the last win for the Italian team in 2008. While the task on hand for Lorenzo is a difficult one but it isn’t as daunting as the one Rossi faced. Gigi Dall'Igna has made his magic work on the premiere class machine and the GP16 is among the fastest bikes on the grid with both the riders registering podium finishes in the first three races of the season. 

On a personal level, Lorenzo will try his level best to win aboard a Ducati, a feat that Rossi couldn’t manage and it will be something that will massage his ego unlike anything. Also if Lorenzo does manage to win a title with Ducati, he will join the elite group of individuals to win a championship piloting two different manufacturer bikes. The current list consists of MotoGP legends – Geoff Duke, Giacomo Agostini, Eddie Lawson, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner. 

Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi racing

With Lorenzo exiting Yamaha, it is most likely that Maverick Vinales from Suzuki will replace him and given the fact that Rossi recently praised the young rider, the above seems a likely proposition. What will be intriguing is to see which of the Italian duo makes space for Lorenzo at Ducati. Andrea Iannone has the benefit of age but his recent move in Argentina hasn’t gone well with Ducati officials, while Andrea Dovizioso on the other hand seems to have the pace to win a few races this season. We will only get our answer by the end of 2016 season but it is for sure that Lorenzo will play a vital role in the above decision for Ducati. 

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