[kropotkin thinks...] - Jorge Lorenzo Retires From MotoGP - A Career Retrospective

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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Jorge Lorenzo is set to retire from motorcycle racing. The 32-year-old Spaniard has decided to end his career as a result of the disastrous season at Repsol Honda, hampered by extreme crashes and severe injury, and never having become comfortable on the bike.

"I always thought that there are four significant days for a rider," Lorenzo told a specially convened press conference at Valencia. "The first is you first race, the second your first win and then your first world championship - not everyone can win a world championship but some of us made it – and then the day you retire."

The decision to retire came because he could no longer summon the required energy to continue at the level which was necessary. "Everything started when I was three years old, almost 30 years of complete dedication to my sport," Lorenzo said. "People who work with me know how much of a perfectionist I am, how much energy and intensity I have always put into my sport."

"This level of perfectionism requires a lot of motivation, that is why after nine years at Yamaha – so wonderful, probably the best years that I enjoyed in my career – I felt that I needed a change, if I wanted to keep this full commitment to my sport. That’s why I wanted to move to Ducati, it gave me a big boost of motivation and even though the results were very bad, I used the motivation to not give up and keep fighting until I achieved this beautiful Mugello victory in front of all the Ducati fans."