![\"Jorge](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gng_645444_hires.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSix years after retiring from MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo prefers to focus on what he has.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m lucky. You have to be lucky just to be born! It\u2019s like a miracle,” he smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I was born into a good family, always had food to eat, and was able to achieve my dreams.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you focus on what you don’t have, you are unhappy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jorge Lorenzo takes his 44th MotoGP win in his final Yamaha race, Valencia 2016.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n
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Jorge Lorenzo <\/a>certainly has a lot to be happy about from his professional career.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spaniard won 68 grands prix and five world titles – three in the premier class – during almost twenty years in the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP<\/a> World Championships.<\/p>\n But no career is perfect, and part of Lorenzo’s success was his ability to identify and then work relentlessly on his weak points.<\/p>\n “It’s better if you can learn from the mistakes of others, but sometimes you need to make the mistakes to learn,” said Lorenzo, now involved in coaching and sports management.<\/p>\n One of the great ‘what ifs’ from Lorenzo’s career surrounds the timing of his debut Ducati <\/a>victory.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n After nine years, 44 victories and three MotoGP titles at Yamaha<\/a>, Lorenzo became Ducati’s biggest signing since Valentino Rossi <\/a>when he joined the Italian manufacturer for 2017.<\/p>\n The timing looked perfect. Ducati was fresh from its first wins of the Gigi Dall’Igna era – with whom Lorenzo had worked at Aprilia – courtesy of Andrea Dovizioso<\/a> and Andrea Iannone <\/a>the previous season.<\/p>\n But the Desmosedici was still no match for the Japanese machines across a full championship. Honda or Yamaha had been world champions every year since 2007, with Maverick Vinales’ Suzuki also ahead of Dovizioso in the 2016 riders’ standings.<\/p>\n Jorge Lorenzo braking, 2018 Italian MotoGP.<\/p>\n \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n “I was too slow to change my riding style”<\/p>\n Lorenzo had been hired to refine the Desmosedici into a title contender, aided by his knowledge of the Yamaha. But where should the line be drawn between making the Ducati more like an M1, or playing to its unique strengths?<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Adapting riding style to a bike, or modifying a bike to suit the rider, is an ongoing conundrum.<\/p>\n Visible early progress was made in terms of stability – the Desmosedici had previously been something of a handful – but it didn’t translate into results, at least not for Lorenzo.<\/p>\n The Spaniard was left to settle for occasional podiums while team-mate Dovizioso took the fight to Marc Marquez for the 2017 title.<\/p>\n 2018 began even worse, with Lorenzo unable to claim a top-ten finish until round five. Then everything clicked spectacularly into place with a lights-to-flag victory at Mugello, by six seconds over Dovizioso.<\/p>\n Upon reflection, Lorenzo feels he should have adapted his riding style sooner.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially, I was probably too slow to change my riding style in Ducati,” he explained, speaking at this year’s Buriram test.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I was trying to ride the Ducati like the Yamaha, and I took too long to understand that with the Ducati I needed to change completely my riding style.<\/p>\n \u201cI needed to brake later, and to go to the apex of the corner very quick, don’t lean, and keep the bike straight.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Yamaha, it was completely the opposite, always sacrificing the braking to have corner speed.<\/p>\n \u201cBut with that style, the Ducati didn’t work, and I took too long to understand.”<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati celebrate, 2018 Italian MotoGP.<\/p>\n \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n “I could have stayed in Ducati for two or three more years”<\/p>\n Mugello was followed by another dominant victory, this time over Marquez at Catalunya, then a third Ducati win in Austria. A title challenge was still a possibility until he was injured at Aragon.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the magnitude of the transformation was such a surprise that when Lorenzo celebrated in parc ferme at Mugello, he had already signed to join Repsol Honda the following season.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I won the race in Mugello 2018 one week too late,\u201d Lorenzo confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if I understood [earlier] that I needed to change my riding, I could have stayed in Ducati for two or three more years.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Instead, Lorenzo endured a nightmare season of injuries at Repsol Honda and retired from MotoGP at the end of the 2019 campaign.<\/p>\n With Marquez then suffering his arm injuries at the Covid-delayed opening round of 2020, leaving Honda without a clear leader, Lorenzo\u2019s retirement decision became another of MotoGP\u2019s great \u2018what ifs\u2019.<\/p>\n Jorge Lorenzo, Gigi Dall\u2019Igna, 2018 Italian MotoGP.<\/p>\n \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Six years after retiring from MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo prefers to focus on what he has. \u201cI\u2019m lucky. 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