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batsplat · 5 months ago

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Jerez 2006

[It] was certainly within the four walls of that gym, between rep after rep on different muscle groups, that the 'LorenShow' was born. There was a time when only Rossi used to put on a show, but even that has become a rare event. 'Now he only does it on certain occasions,' says Jorge. 'The World Championship was losing a bit of sparkle. Other riders were trying things but they weren't funny, especially in 125cc. There was a time when Melandri tried to imitate Rossi but he never managed to make it as funny.' Jorge had been thinking for a long time about how he could offer his fans something extra after a win. A lot of people saw him as too serious, but he wanted to show that he cared about them, that he enjoyed what he did and that he was affable and good humoured, as well as imaginative. He needed an ingenious plan because he had a clear objective: to celebrate the World Championship title in style. 'We wanted to do it in style, go mad,' recalls Dani Palau. That seemed a long way off, back in the summer of 2006, but once the crises of Turkey, Shanghai and Le Mans were behind him the dream of beating Andrea Dovizioso was alive again.

Strictly speaking, the first episode of the 'LorenShow' was at the Spanish GP in 2006. It was his first victory in the 250cc class and Jorge got off his bike, took off his helmet and started shouting at the fans. 'It was pretty spectacular and it was the first time we used the word "LorenShow",' he recalls. 'Palau and I used to put together a ten-page magazine of our own after each Grand Prix and on the front cover of that particular edition we put a photo of my celebrations and the headline [in English] "Welcome to the LorenShow!" That was awesome, really different. I have always been creative and I fancied doing something special after I won, so I decided to give it a try!' The design of the magazine, by the way, was similar to GQ. 'Well, not similar exactly. We kind of copied it! We were worried about getting into trouble for copying it but I hope they don't hit us with a lawsuit now ... it was only for us!' he laughs.

March 2007

After his victory at Losail Jorge pretended to skip like a boxer, as he'd done for so many hours in the gym with Marcos. It was a spontaneous, intuitive celebration and an early turning point for his season. After such a morale-boosting performance during and after the race, why not celebrate all his victories from now on? 'In Qatar I did the skipping-rope thing but I never thought that in the future I'd be using props to celebrate my victories!' The preparation that went into each episode of 'LorenShow' was a simple but elaborate process. Generally the original idea would come from Jorge and, often with the help of his computer, Palau would fill in the details. It became something of a team effort at Motorsport48, where almost everybody began to join in the fun. Everybody except the boss: Dani Amatriain kept his distance. He didn't like or dislike the celebrations but he preferred to leave them to Jorge as a bit of innocent fun. Out of the blue came another idea, this time from Marcos. Once again, it was an idea born in the gym. 'You are a warrior. You have to reclaim the championship, right? But what kind of a conqueror doesn't have a flag?' Jorge's eyes began to twinkle. 'It has to be something really visual,' Jorge told Palau, taking on the idea. 'Imagine that in each race I stick a flag into the ground, as if I have conquered that land. Like Christopher Columbus when he arrived in America!' The design process was short, with Jorge's X-fuera logo the obvious choice, set on a black background - the colour used by pirates. And written in English, so that it would be understood all over the world, not just in Spain, would be those now famous words: 'Lorenzo's Land'.

The day of its first unfurling soon arrived. It was the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, known as 'The Cathedral' by local fans. Dani Palau headed for partisan territory - the section of track that features the 'Angel Nieto' and 'Peluqui' corners, where he would meet his friend if he won the race. 'I had goosebumps. You should have heard the noise from the crowd when Jorge stopped!' he recalls. There were 140,000 people packed into the grandstands at Jerez that day and they had been treated to an outstanding 250cc race: 'la carrera de los cuarenta y dos adelantamientos' ['the race with forty two overtakes']. Jorge Lorenzo savoured the moment. As he had done in 2006, he removed his helmet, got off his bike and punched the air to celebrate his second victory at Jerez. Then the flag appeared by his side. He took it and drove it deep into the gravel. Jerez had been conquered, the first circuit to be claimed as 'Lorenzo's Land'. A few weeks later he won again, in China, and again he planted the flag. However, unlike Jerez, this victory was his first in Shanghai. Nobody was going to stop him now.

"Now what's happening with Lorenzo? Oh, he's going to plant the flag, I think. Here we go! Or he's going to throw the flag. He's going to do something, but, eh... All the script we have in front of us, all the timings, goes out of the window when Lorenzo wins a 250cc race... so you can just, rustle up your papers, any scripts you've got, what's coming up next, disappears, because he delays everything. There we are. Plants the flag..."

Le Mans 2007

Lorenzo, who designs his own logos and comes up with fun things like the pirate flag he sticks in the sand at the circuit where he wins to "announce to everyone" that he has conquered "that land" , says that preparing for these celebrations is just another way of coping with the hard training he does and, above all, having the best time possible. "Looking for ideas for the parties I have at the circuits encourages me to win ," he said yesterday after his excellent victory over Dovizioso.

The Mallorcan, who did not hesitate to admit his mistake on a line and apologize to Dovi for the push he had given him ( "I'm very sorry, I went out too wide on a curve, I wanted to regain verticality too soon, get back on the right line and I crashed into him" ), yesterday came up with nothing better than to dress up his soulmate, Dani Palau, as Jorge Lorenzo, with whom he shares the entertainment of festive designs and games. Palau appeared on the lap of glory and tried to get his two-and-a-half-litre Aprilia and, as they had agreed, Lorenzo told him to go away, that the bike was his and that he was the owner of the winning machine. "We wanted to make a joke, implying that the double, which was him, Dani, represented the Lorenzo who had fallen on Friday and that the real one, that is, myself, was the one who had won the race."

Mugello 2007

Jorge was coming up with more ideas for celebrations than he could use, and that was probably a good thing because some of them would have got him into more trouble than they were worth. Like the one that involved him wearing an Andrea Dovizioso mask. 'We've still got the mask but Andrea would have had to do something really bad to me to warrant getting it out ... though he'd better ‘watch it!' smiles Jorge. Another one that failed to get past the ideas stage was for Valencia, the final race of 2007. Jorge had already claimed the title and, after being criticised all year for using the 'Lorenzo's Land' flag instead of the Spanish one, planned to go completely over the top, using not only the Spanish flag but dressing up' as a bullfighter. Maybe it was a good thing he only managed seventh. The celebrations he did get to use became ever more elaborate and meticulously planned. He would scour the circuit for the best comer, with the best camera angle and the best view for the fans. Jorge had decided that each celebration should have something to do with the country he was in, and in Italy a friend, Jordi Ohva, who worked for Dorna [the commercial and television rights holders for MotoGP] gave him an idea. 'In Italy they've nicknamed you "Spaniard". The commentator on Italian television has started calling you that.''"Spaniard"? Why?''Because you are like a gladiator and that's what they call the main character played by Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator.' Maximus Decimus Meridius was a Roman general born in Merida, Spain. He lived in the second century and since this was the second year of domination by a Spaniard in the 250cc class then what better way for Lorenzo to celebrate victory in the Italian GP than by dressing up as his namesake? 'In fact, the idea of doing something historical came after watching 300 with Marcos,' explains Jorge, 'We watched the film again with Palau, the three of us talked about it and we decided we wanted to do something related to the Battle of Thermopylae. It was while we were looking for a King Leonidas suit that we came across a Gladiator outfit. That coincided with me finding out what [Italian television commentator] Guido Meda was calling me.' The wheels were quickly put in motion. like any good media relations manager, Pere Gurt sourced an exact replica of the costume worn by Russell Crowe in the film, which was owned by an agency in Madrid. It cost 600 euros a week to rent and the sword was extra. It was kept in a corner of the garage at Mugello, where Dani Palau devoutly guarded it from the inquisitive eyes of journalists who were already wondering what Lorenzo had up his sleeve if he won this one. On race day Palau headed for the comer where they'd agreed to meet if a miracle should happen. Jorge was starting from 20th on the grid, but he still had his sights set on victory. Everybody knows what happened next. On the big screens around the circuit, Palau watched his friend slide into the gravel after colliding with Bautista. He jumped onto his scooter and raced to fetch him, sword, breastplate, helmet, 'Lorenzo's Land' flag and all. The Italian fans spotted the props and, despite Jorge's popularity there, Dani could hear them laughing and shouting insults. The mediocre can be unforgiving when a winner falls from his perch. 'The preparations were perfect, but unfortunately the race wasn't!'

Catalunya 2007

You have to be very confident in your abilities to appear on the starting grid, having previously asked two friends to dress like you, to wait for you at a strategic point during the lap of honour and to take out some guitars so you can emulate your favourite band in front of 112,600 spectators. That was how Jorge Lorenzo celebrated his fifth victory of the season at Montmeló, giving a concert on the track and another one off it, microphone in hand, as a tribute to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and to make up for his fall at Mugello a week ago. This time, the Mallorcan needed two stunt doubles at his side for his performance, and those who dressed as him were Dani Palau, his webmaster and the same one he used at Le Mans, and Ricard Cardús, a CEV driver and Carlos' nephew.

Looking back on his performance, it could be said that the most critical moment was the start, when Thomas Luthi had taken the lead on the first corner. 'Por Fuera' did not back down, he lived up to his nickname and made an epic outside turn. That was the only thing that really cost him, or so it seemed from the sidelines, because he later said that it had been a difficult race. Maybe he said that because he still had in mind the blunder in Italy, that fall on the last corner when Álvaro Bautista overtook him. Whatever the reason, he was exultant and at the end of the podium ceremony he dared to take the speaker's microphone to address the public. "Did you enjoy the show?" he asked from the top of the podium. And he continued: "I know that some of you liked me and others didn't, but I don't care. You are Spanish like me and I love you! Thank you."

The trio completed a recce of Montmelo on Thursday and Friday and performed a rehearsal at the corner of choice, in front of the stadium section. I told them, "When we're playing here, I want you to jump around like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Go on YouTube, have a look at the videos and learn the dance moves," ' recalls Jorge. 'But the bastards ignored me!' For one magic moment Jorge, Dani and Ricky were no longer Lorenzo, Palau and Cardus. They weren't even three Lorenzos, dancing and singing like maniacs in front of 100,000 people. They were Anthony Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante. Only Chad Smith was missing on drums, otherwise they would have been the real Chilis. 'I wanted there to be four of us, like the real Chilis, and I was going to ask Ricky's older brother Jordi to join in but there weren't any more leathers in my size. Also, getting a drum kit onto the track would have been a nightmare!'

Donington, Assen, Sachsenring 2007

After Catalunya came the British GP and before travelling there they went to dinner with a racing friend, Xavi Ledesma - the owner of the Fortuna Team hospitality unit and one of Jorge's closest friends in 2005, as well as being the organiser of the Copa Aprilia when he first started racing Xavi told them that the tradition in England was to drink tea in the afternoon. No sooner said than done. They went out and bought a tea tray, complete with teapot, cups and spoons. Palau planned to sit at a table at the Melbourne Loop, dressed as a waiter in a tuxedo and crash helmet. All Jorge had to do was turn up, rest his feet and have a drink. Oh, and win the race. Unfortunately, the final and most crucial part of the plan started to go wrong in the warm-up because, as is well known, rain is as traditional at Donington as tea. Despite the heavy downpour, Jorge produced a great performance - he was having the best wet race of his career. 'Shall I go out or not?' thought Dani halfway through the race. His buddy was running in second place behind Dovizioso. He had to have faith. 'If you have any doubt, something is bound to go wrong,' says Jorge. 'Whenever I have felt sure I would win I have won, but if there has been any kind of doubt I've lost, come second, or something has happened. That is what the brain is like.' And just as Palau made his mind up and went to load up the scooter with props, Jorge hit the deck. That was one cuppa that was hard to swallow. Jorge's next celebration was enjoyed by the Spanish fans, although it was on a Saturday rather than a Sunday. The Dutch are a bit different in everything, even their racing, and since 1949 the TT at Assen has always taken place on a Saturday. Jorge knew exactly what he was going to do if he won. He wanted to copy the thousands of locals by riding a pushbike. They rehearsed their routine at two or three different comers. 'This place is best. How far will you ride the bike? Will you be able to cycle in boots?' Every minute detail was taken care of. 'We'd practised in that area where Valentino sat when he won the MotoGP race, the bit that looks like a target. I was going to leave my Aprilia and the pushbike would be in the middle of the circle. We thought of it before Rossi!' Suddenly, he changed his mind. On his return to the pit garage he realised that there was a stage, all set up right next to the track, because just by the final chicane that leads into the start-finish straight there is a VIP terrace. It was the perfect place - and not only that, there was a television camera directly opposite.

'We could sit down and have a drink,' Jorge told Dani. The fact he'd missed out on his cup of tea at Donington a few days earlier still irked him, so it was all hands on deck. The owners of the terrace had to be consulted and asked for permission. Initially they weren't too keen because there are no fences there and it is easy for people to get out and access pit lane. For that reason, a huge deposit has to be paid to hire the area, which the circuit organisers retain if there are any problems. In the end they realised it was a Lorenzo celebration and they went along with it. This time Jorge backed up his plans with a dominant victory. However, having left his bike propped against the fence before climbing over the tyre wall and on to the terrace, he was swamped by punters taking photographs and the television cameras lost him in the melee. 'On top of that, the bar owner was a complete opportunist and he got a bunch of people to hold up an advertisement! It was a disaster.' Even though not much could be seen on the television, it was clear that Jorge's double had returned and that they'd gone to have a drink together. But why? Jorge was happy to provide the answer in pare ferme. 'After the crash at Donington, somebody [Dovizioso] had suggested I was getting nervous. So I sipped on a herbal tea.' Some time later Dani Palau insisted that the initial idea was to drink a glass of water but, as at Le Mans, Jorge was thinking on his feet and he was eager to hit back at Dovizioso. 'Sometimes that happens to me. I get really good ideas on the spur of the moment. Other times I really have to think things through for them to work out. But sometimes I get a flash of inspiration.'

Jorge finished fourth in Germany but there were no plans for a celebration even if he'd won. He was worried about the joke wearing thin. 'You have to keep people guessing. It is good to have an element of the unexpected. If we did it every time it wouldn't be funny any more. The truth is that I like things to be complete and maybe I would have continued the celebrations race after race but I let them convince me. It was good to have a break.' The summer holidays were approaching and they wanted to leave the fans gagging for more. To be fair, I have to say that I can't always put on a big celebration because I need helpers and Palau didn't come to every race. For the ones outside Europe we had a much smaller group.' There were no celebrations in the Czech Republic either, but this time for a different reason. Nobody at Motorsport48 was in the mood for a party. Dani Amatriain's assistant, Esther Serra, had just lost her brother, Marc. Jorge won but conducted a silent parade of his now obligatory 'Lorenzo's Land' flag in honour of the family. 'The problem with the celebrations is that it gets harder and harder to come up with something original, with meaning, that isn't just plain stupid,' says Jorge. 'Ideas are finite. We had something planned for Portugal but I'd prefer to keep it to myself - I might use it in the future. We also wanted to do something with animals but are they allowed on the track? We planned to get Datil, my mum's dog, a set of made-to-measure leathers but imagine if we brought him out and he had a shit on the track! That'd cause a scene!' Jorge fell about laughing as his imagination took over. 'It's a shame Marcos doesn't come to more races because we could dress him up as Shrek! Ha, ha!'

Misano 2007

From that moment on, Jorge defended his first place, riding alone and maintaining a calm margin over the second, who ended up being the Japanese Aoyama, after first catching his teammate Kallio, who fell next, and then Héctor Barberá, who added his third podium of the year. Lorenzo is now 50 points ahead and celebrated by doing a lap of honour dressed as a Roman gladiator. De Angelis is second after finishing a disappointing fifth in what was his Grand Prix.

Jorge toyed with the idea of wearing his new outfit [the gladiator costume he had been mocked for at Mugello] if he won at the GP of Catalunya but eventually decided that revenge is a dish best served cold and it was better to wait. The season would give him plenty of opportunities to settle the score and the Italian fans would have no choice but to bow down before him like a Roman general. Every great film has unforgettable lines that are often repeated by film buffs. This one from Gladiator suited Jorge down to the ground. My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius . . . commander of the armies of the north . . . general of the Felix Legions . . . loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius . . . father to a murdered son ... husband to a murdered wife ... and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. 'What a well-chosen phrase!' Lorenzo must have thought. Italy owed him one and he was going back to collect his dues. It wasn't to be in that first race on Italian soil, but he was determined to get his revenge in the second. He rented the outfit again, waving goodbye to another 600 euros, but this wasn't about the money. This was a question of honour. He didn't know the circuit, because there hadn't been a GP there since 1993, and although he had visited Misano once, when he'd signed for Derbi in 2002, he was only 15 then and not old enough to actually ride. None of that mattered now, because he went out and won. And on top of that, Dovizioso broke down. Jordi Perez and Cheni Martinez raced out onto the track to dress their man. They'd already discussed with Race Direction and the television directors where the best place would be for the celebration in terms of safety and maximum exposure. Jorge didn't want to take the outfit off - not when he stepped on to the podium, or when he sprayed the champagne. He even kept it on for the press conference. He clearly wanted to recoup his investment, but above all he wanted to enjoy the moment. He felt like the king of the world. ' "Now THAT was legendary," Guido Meda told me.' "

Sepang 2007

Dovizioso responded to remain in Lorenzo’s slipstream as the duo were caught by KTM team-mates Hiroshi Aoyama and Mika Kallio, plus Hector Barbera. The five battled until the penultimate lap when Dovizioso’s wafer-thin title hopes were ended as Mika Kallio took him out in an out-braking move. Hiroshi Aoyama inherited the lead and kept it to the flag from Barbera and Lorenzo. As Kallio remounted to finish fourth ahead of Tomas Luthi, Andrea Dovizioso remounted to cross the line eleventh. Meanwhile Jorge Lorenzo was celebrating keeping the 250cc world championship in a boxer’s gold-coloured gown and gloves, and picking up a fake championship belt in parc ferme.

Jorge won his second 250cc World Championship at the Malaysian Grand Prix with one race to spare, to top off an outstanding 2007 season. And what better way to celebrate in style than by looking way back to the very first race of the year in Qatar, when Jorge recovered the 'eye of the tiger'? His antics in 2007 had made him the leading contender for the title of paddock showman left vacant by Valentino Rossi in a season when the Italian had little to celebrate. It's clear by now that Jorge is up for a challenge and a second 250cc World Championship title was enough of an excuse for him to stake his claim, as the leading heavyweight in 'motorshowbusiness'. On this occasion it wasn't actually one of his own ideas, but he made it his own as soon as it left the lips of Marcos Hirsch. Having started the season training like Rocky Balboa and trying to recover the 'eye of the tiger', he took the title in Malaysia (coincidentally a country the famous Italian novelist Emilio Salgari referred to as the 'land of the tigers' ) and there was only one way to celebrate - as the new CHAMPION OF THE WOOOOOORLD! That box in the corner of the garage at Plulhp Island contained a story all of its own. Jorge and Marcos's initial idea was to set up a boxing match between the two of them, in which Jorge would knock Marcos out. The idea was that I had to beat a heavyweight. And boy is he heavy!' laughs Jorge. When I'd dressed as Jorge at Valencia the previous year, the message was that he had grown up,' explains Marcos. 'This time it was a case of demonstrating that he was capable of anything. Even knocking out somebody twice his height and weight, like me!' Another of Jorge's ideas was for Marcos to grow his hair like Don King, the world's most famous boxing promoter. In the end the celebration wasn't exactly as Jorge and Marcos had planned, partly because the Brazilian trainer was unable to make the trip to Malaysia.

The final idea came about after a conversation between Jorge and Marcos after which the 'celebration panel' of Jorge, Dani Palau and Pere Gurt set things in motion. They went on the Internet to download information about the Clint Eastwood film Million Dollar Baby and then researched other famous boxers like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Eioya and Julio Cesar Chavez. Once they had decided on a look they set about sourcing the outfit. Esther Serra was sent to a fabric shop in Barcelona, which is where they encountered their first setback. They didn't have any gold fabric for the hooded cloak - only black - and if that shop didn't have it, it was difficult to imagine anywhere else that would. But necessity is the mother of invention and somebody suddenly remembered that the covers used to unveil Jorge's Apiilia RSW250 at the start of the season had been gold. Problem solved! Now it was a case of putting the whole outfit together. They'd found a blue cloak in a Barcelona boxing shop, and picked up a gum shield at the same time. There were some fruitless trips to fancy dress shops. It was time to get the family involved... Pere Gurt called his mother, Rosa Casas, and her friend, Carme Armengol. After much protest, which fell on deaf ears, the pair reluctantly accepted the assignment and, as a result, MotoGP ended up with two more avid fans - to the point where they would get up at 5am to watch Jorge race in Australia.

A world championship belt needed to be found at the same time, so the team got in touch with the Spanish Boxing Federation (FEB), who recommended 'Charlie's', a specialist shop in Madrid. Bingo! Not only did they have a belt, they also had a pair of golden gloves. The only problem was that the belt featured the Dutch flag, but Esther wasted no time in having the red, white and blue colours replaced with a logo designed by Dani PalaWeb that read: 'Loren Show II'. In the end Jorge didn't use the gum shield, but there's a little story about that too. When Juan Llansa saw it he said there was no point: 'That is a shit gum shield. You need one made to measure!' Juanito knew what he was talking about - he'd not only seen plenty of riders use them over his 20 years in motorcycle racing, but also his daughter, Zaida Llansa, was the 2001 Kata [a form of martial arts] World Champion. As soon as he landed in Australia he looked on the Internet for a martial arts shop near Phillip Island. He bought the silicone, warmed it in boiling water and made Jorge bite it for a made-to-measure gum shield. Lorenzo still decided not to use it for the celebrations, but Juanito saved it just in case Jorge decided he needed one for MotoGP. 'He never wore one in 125cc and 250cc but I've saved it just in case he really needs to grit his teeth in MotoGP!' Llansa laughed. Everything was prepared as quickly as possible because there wasn't much time. Jorge quickly became impatient: 'Pere, how's the cloak coming along?' 'Don't worry about it.' 'If it's going to be shit just leave it and we'll think of something else.' 'Trust me. I don't doubt your work, so don't doubt mine.' It was almost time to leave and everything was ready. Cheni Martinez picked up the outfit and went to meet Jorge at the Hotel Barcelo-Sants gym in Barcelona for a dress rehearsal. He had to try everything on before leaving for Melbourne. In the car on the way to the airport Jorge received a call. It was Pere. 'How is it?' 'Pffff. It's not that bad.' Pere Gurt hung up with a smile. 'We've done it,' he thought.

The box remained unopened in Australia, of course, but in Malaysia the surprise was unleashed. The hardest-hitting World Champion in racing was about to be crowned and the character of Rocky Balboa represented the strength he'd displayed to overcome his own limitations and fears. Jorge Lorenzo had not only clinched his second world title, he'd proved to himself and to the world that he could do anything, as a rider and as a person. And then he and the clan treated the public to their most memorable celebration yet. His friends, headed by Juanito Llansa, waited for him with the boxer's outfit that Lorenzo wanted to wear to mirror his battling performances on the track that season — the cloak, gloves and belt of a World Champion, made out of gold fabric and with a logo on the back, hand sewn by Pere Gurt's mother and her neighbour. It simply read: Loren Show II. World Champion 2007. The 'Lorenzo's Land' flag had fluttered at seven different circuits during the year, but this time it was the Spanish flag that an emotional Lorenzo drove into Malaysian soil, in the final turn of the Sepang International Circuit. The whole act had been Jorge's tribute to 'the eye of the tiger', the winning attitude of Rocky Balboa that he'd adopted as his own. All the knock-out blows to his rivals during the season had given him just cause for celebration. Celebrations are often forgotten the following day, as soon as the outfits and props have been returned, but not this time. The World Championship gown and gloves will always remain part of Jorge's life.. 'One day I returned home to find that my mother had prepared a surprise. She had redecorated my bedroom and there it was, my gold outfit, hung on the wall, looking magical.' Some people think Jorge Lorenzo is simply copying Valentino Rossi, the originator of post-race victory celebrations, in order to enhance his own image. Others feel that perhaps he takes things too far, or they may view the Lorenzo antics rather more favourably. Jorge will continue to hope they're accepted for what they are: harmless, innocent fun but always with a moral to the 'story'. There's no doubt, though, that he will have something to say if other riders start copying him...

Jorge Lorenzo and 250cc celebrations

Lorenzo is authentic, reject imitations (2007); Shanghai race commentary (2007); A recital by Jorge Lorenzo to forget about Mugello (2007); Lorenzo 'Gladiator' conquers Misano and caresses the title (2007); Sepang MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo is 2007 250cc GP champion, Hiroshi Aoyama wins race (2007); Jorge Lorenzo: My Story So Far (2010)

#bodied melandri fairs #the biographer also kinda bodied valentino fairs. ntm on his 2007 #my life's goal is to organise an interview with dovi just to see what his face does if i say the word 'lorenshow' to him #genuinely do think the 250cc ones are my favourite jorge titles likeeeee they hit so good i'm telling you. poor poor dovi #the bit where dovi allegedly suggested jorge was getting nervous and jorge reacted in a sane and normal way... cinema. to me #brr brr #//#alien tag #comp tag #morale tag #'like christopher columbus when he arrived in america' JORGE NO #something charming about the biographer saying 'everybody knows what happens next' about the 250cc mugello race in 2007 #a book that knows its insular target audience. like no I didn't actually know off the top of my head but please continue #obviously I have checked but I haven't been able to secure any footage of what this whole gladiator on a scooter situation looked like #okay look I NEEDED to include the presser photos because it's like. the context of What Version of jorge is doing all this #look at him!! he's a kid!! casey and valentino having their whole Thing going on at the same time #that one misano 2007 presser photo is an incredibly rich text if you are an insane person. look at it #casey and dani pointedly ignoring the concept of 250cc in those years I reckon #valentino observing all of this in his peripheral vision and just saying to himself. listen. that's a problem for future me

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42bakery · 8 months ago

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One of my favourite interview from Dani has to be 'La Caja de DAZN'. This is an out of the box interview were DAZN asked close people to the riders to give them important objects to allow them to talk about the rider's career. The rider's can talk as much or as little as they want and sometimes, one object can have more than one meaning.

Those are the objects in Dani's box and what it meant.

That glue represents Antonio (he's a carpenter). It meant his job and the money they need for Dani to compete. It also represents Dani's origin as a rider and the passion for bikes that share. The first bike, the miniature bikes to play...

This represents Basilia and a period of time. Apparently people saw Dani on the street an remember Dani as the Colacao guy. The story behind the add is real. Basi has been the person to stay with Dani the whole time he has been in the hospital.

Dani is not very fan of football, but he's a Barça fan. The importance is in the detail that this shirt belongs to Iniesta. In a Catalan GP Dani wore a racing boots with Iniesta's name due to Alpinestar doing a special edition related to the World Cup. Dani choose Iniesta due to his values in and out of the pitch.

This also helped to talk about his retirement. How he needed it, but he still misses it.

Dani's 125cc winning shirt (2003). Dani says people still have it and show it to him.

They mention that Puig told him that after 5 years with the same bike it was time for Dani to finally win the championship (or something) with this bike. They always had it present in their mind.

Dani explains that the 2 stoke bikes and the learning curve. First it was learning how the two strokes worked, then how to be fast and do the proper setting of the bike and on top of that the process to get the 'good' parts. So when you do the good results you get the parts. According to Dani, currently riders all have the same materials properly set up.

This represents both 250cc years (and championship) Dani did. For Dani is a glorious period of time. He had no pre-season and no real training that winter break. Added with his short stature and lack of weight, people weren't really expecting a lot, but Dani settled very well with the bike and the category. He did so well that he actually won the first race.

He also confesses that he has this bike (250cc) at his house.

It's also mentioned his rivals in that category. In 2004 it was Sebas Porto and in 2005 it was Jorge, Casey and Andrea (Dovizioso)

And not so well know detail of this bike is that there was a special sticker that was Puig's idea (yes Puig had a big hand and influence in young Dani).

Dani didn't reveal what it was, but it was something between Alberto and his dad. What people though that C.N.O meant Centro Nacional de Operaciones (National Centre of Operations), but Dani said is not really that, it's close but not that.

Do I need to say this is a mini-replica of Jorge's X-Fuera helmet?

This bring us back to 2005, when Spanish media sometimes talked more about 250cc (and Dani-Jorge battles/rivalry) than MotoGP. Dani notes that their 250cc rivalry moved and shifted when they moved to MotoGP. For him, in 250cc it was them (managers and riders) talking to the media and responding through the media more than track rivalries (not that it lacked), but in MotoGP in was more on track than media.

Dani confesses that for them sometimes it wasn't about who was going to win the race, just to be in front of the other because they had other rivals on track such and Vale or Casey.

This took a trip to memory lane where Dani explains how he and Jorge meet, then become rivals and finally friends. They also explain the infamous handshake in Jerez 2008.

This is tape to explain the injuries. They mention the one in Australian GP in 2003 when he broke both ankles. Dani is a rider that didn't crash a lot, but unfortunately, he broke every time they did.

This lead to Dani's neardy side, which is that he apparently calculate the number of crashes per year he had. According to his data, he did it 2-3 times per year test including (5 or 6 the year he crashed the most). And for half of those crashes he ended up in the hospital (Poor Dani had to have surgery twice a year). In comparison, Marc his teammate at the time crashed more than 30 times and only once or less did Marc need surgery.

At the end of his career, Dani was mostly affected of the collarbone, but at the start it was mostly extremities (hand and feet).

This is a phone, but the important isn't the phone itself, it's the Movistar logo on it that can't be seen. This brings us back to Dani's origin. When Dani's family didn't have enough money for Dani to keep going in bikes and then the add of the Movistar Joven Activa Cup appeared in their life. It was a promotional cup with DORNA's approval and the support of Movistar as an sponsor.

It was Antonio who encouraged Dani to send the application despite knowing Dani didn't have the age for it, but it was the only way for Dani to stay riding motobikes and not change to bikes. That was the ladder to took Dani to MotoGP.

When Puig proposed Dani to move from the Cup to CEV, Antonio told Dani to not accept and do a second year in the Cup to win more experience and not suffer from his lack of height and experience, but Dani decided that he wanted to move to the CEV.

They reveal that Dani raced with the number 26 in his first year in the World Championship (2001).

This is the film 'The last samurai' which allows us to know where the 'little Samurai' nickname comes from.

When the film came out, Dani went to the cinema to see it, and a scene left an impact on him. Added to the message and values that the film had, let him to the samurai path. He also was riding for Honda that they are like that, so it ted nicely.

This is an orange, and is just there for the colour orange. it's supposed to be the moment to talk about KTM, but Dani also wanted to talk about Repsol. Dani started his career racing with the colour blue (his favourite), but since he moved to MotoGP, the orange has followed him.

Dani talks about how an objective have to be followed by the appropriate tools, and how KTM has been growing since their objective have been growing too.

Golden wings to represent Honda. Dani has been racing with Honda his whole life including the Movistar Cup and the CEV. For Dani it always has been Honda because all the big names and his idols have been there. There wasn't any other team for him.

Even his leathers in minimotos where the Repsol replica!

That is a piece of titanium, and Dani's first tough is that the metal is there because he has so much inside him. But no, the meaning of this object is because Sete (Gibernau) used to call Dani Titanium because Dani was small and strong; lightweight and tough/hardy.

The nickname made the aparence for the first time when Dani broke his ankles in 2003. Sete has holding a piece of paper with it.

'Titanio' Pedrosa mejorate pronto. Estamos contigo - Titanium Pedrosa get well soon. We are with you.

From then on, every time Sete and Dani had an event together, both raced in the Movistar team, Sete called Dani Titanium.

Ernest ventured to ask Dani if his life would have changed had he become MotoGP World Champion. Dani said yes (no hesitation) and explains that some colateral things would have changed, but doesn't further elaborate. When asked of if he still feels as it's missing, Dani said that not at the moment, but he felt it in the past. And that he had to digest and work on accepting it.

Source: La Caja de DAZN (DAZN's box).

#MotoGP #250cc #125cc #DAZN Spain #La Caja de DANZ #Dani Pedrosa #DaniLoveFest2024 #DaniLoveFest

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bobendsneyder64 · 1 year ago

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So I was watching back the episodes from the special TT news they make every year in the week before the TT and learned some amazing things I wanted to share with you

This post will be about Assen

- the first ever TT was in 1925 and was 28 kilometers long. It was from Rolde via Borger and Schoonlo back to Rolde. It moved to Assen in 1926 because there was a part in the original circuit that was a sand road. This was only 800 metres long but the organisations and officials that organised it didn't wan't to put asphalt on this small part. Because it was a street circuit the whole circuit had to be asphalt. Assen immediately took their chance to host the TT from then on.

- while there have been a lot of changes to the circuit over the years, the place of the start/finish line never changed. Ever since 1926 it has been on the same place and never moved, not even an inch. The circuit has become shorter and wider, but the start/finish line never changed.

- in 2025 the TT exist a 100 years and it will be a special year. They want to do a lot of special stuff and release special material, like a book and a movie. This year, however, was only the 92nd edition of the TT but that is because in all these years, there were 6 years were they couldn't organise one. 5 years were missed because of WW2 and one year was missed because of covid. So the 100th TT will be in 2031.

- in the last 13 races in Assen there were also 13 different pole-sitters: Jorge Lorenzo (2010), Marco Simoncelli (2011), Casey Stoner (2012), Cal Crutchlow (2013), Aleix Espargaró (2014), Valentino Rossi (2015), Andrea Dovizioso (2016), Johann Zarco (2017), Marc Marquez (2018), Fabio Quartararo (2019), Maverick Viñales (2021), Pecco Bagnaia (2022) and Marco Bezzecchi (2023)

This is post 1 of 2. Find post 2 here

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sbknews · 2 years ago

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Alpinestars Reveals The All-New Supertech R10 Road Racing Helmet Launch Edition

Alpinestars is pleased to present the all-new Supertech R10 Road Racing Helmet Launch Edition. The result of over 10 years of intensive study, development, and testing, the goal of the Supertech family of helmets is to create the most advanced, protective, and performance-enhancing helmets possible for racers and riders worldwide.

After years of research, development, and testing of the S-R10 with Alpinestars’ Helmet Product Development Department and alongside MotoGP LEGEND Andrea Dovizioso and MotoGP riders Jorge Martin, and Jack Miller, Alpinestars is launching an exclusive numbered series of S-R10 Launch Edition Road Racing Helmets. With the S-R10, the focus of the design was to ensure the highest level of performance, especially when it comes to protection and providing a new level of safety. The S-R10 Helmet has been engineered to provide the perfect blend of excellent ventilation, unsurpassed comfort, and the lightest weight possible, without compromising on any other front. Another crucial element unique to the S-R10’s design and development is the helmet’s advanced aerodynamics, with countless sessions in the wind tunnel focused on reducing drag and providing optimal aerodynamic stability.

The S-R10 Helmet Launch Edition comes in dark candy red sublimated by vibrant red accents, and a carbon glossy colorway, where dark candy red ink has been incorporated in the clear coating and manually sprayed on the carbon helmet to create a unique grading effect. The Alpinestars’ branding on the helmet is subtle, providing intense contrasting energy to the helmet, where a glossy layer has been applied to give it a unique shiny look. The internal helmet lining is handcrafted in Italy. The S-R10 Helmet Launch Edition in the Red Carbon Glossy colorway will be available for purchase on alpinestars.com starting at 6 pm CET / 9 am PST on July 10th, with a limited numbered series of 200 units. Accessories provided with the S-R10 Helmet Launch Edition include two separate race and standard spoilers, clear and dark smoke visors, tear-offs set, Pinlock lens, the chin curtain, wind, and breath deflectors, and all can be stored comfortably in the paddock helmet bag provided.

“I could not be more pleased with the new S-R10 helmet. From the get-go, I have been very, very comfortable with the helmet. The amount of visibility is unrivalled and the aerodynamics of the S-R10 helmet combined with the leather suit are amazing in terms of speed and comfortability. It’s incredible how light the helmet is and truly amazing that with the carbon fiber, they’ve been able to reduce the weight without compromising safety. It is a true honor to be able to wear the S-R10 helmet.” – JACK MILLER, MotoGP “Starting with the new S-R10 helmet this season with Alpinestars, has been an amazing journey. Working on the development of the S-R10 together with Alpinestars, we’ve done a great job, an amazing job - the helmet feels great, it’s super comfortable, and it fits my head perfectly. I feel like it’s the best comfort I’ve ever had in a helmet in my entire career. Ventilation is also great especially in the hot races, when it’s extremely hot, I feel great. The helmet is also very lightweight. I don’t get tired while using it, and when I’m doing long distances in the races, I feel super good. In addition, the field of vision is great which is important when going 360 km/h into the corner where I can see well, and I feel especially good.” – Jorge Martin, MotoGP

“Alpinestars’ new S-R10 MotoGP-derived helmet is very aerodynamic, and at high speeds it feels ultra-lightweight and stable; and that is reassuring. The field of vision is incredible. The view the S-R10 offers feels super ‘widescreen’ and you can see a huge amount in all directions. That is a massive positive and is probably its most important feature. The S-R10 has an advanced design and I think it is a really good helmet to wear. Not only is it very comfortable, but it’s also super ventilated.” – Andrea Dovizioso, MotoGP SUPERTECH R10 HELMET TECHNICAL FEATURES

OUTER SHELL CARBON SHELL CONSTRUCTION MULTI-LAYER COMPOSITE DISPERSES ENERGY IN IMPACTS Homologated to ECE 22.06, DOT, and FIM standards, the Supertech R10’s shell construction utilizes a highly advanced molding technology with a multi-composite combination featuring a 3K high-density carbon outer layer, a uni-directional carbon composite layer, an aramid fiber layer, and a fiberglass layer. The 3K high-density carbon outer layer provides excellent strength and efficiency of energy dissipation over the shell. The uni-directional (UD) carbon composite layer provides significantly greater radial strength around the shell, preventing compression, but allowing controlled deflection for reducing transmitted impact energy, while the aramid fiber plus fiberglass layers provide critical penetration protection. This layered composite combination created by bonding everything together with an advanced epoxy resin already applied on the pre-preg fiber, perfectly controls the ideal proportion of resin versus fiber to maximize strength, mechanical performance, and lightweight. The combination of material layers provides improved energy management, as well as limited outer shell deflection, making the energy spread wider and better absorbed by the EPS liner. The S-R10’s unique shell construction results in extremely effective impact protection. With a fully equipped in-house helmet testing facility within Alpinestars’ state-of-the-art Research and Development center, the company has carried out an exhaustive impact research program, where research and development efforts have shown the S-R10 helmet returning linear and oblique impact performance results which far exceed current ECE 22.06 helmet regulation standard limits. For direct linear impacts, which are impacts at a 90-degree angle between the helmet and an object, the S-R10 surpasses the standard by an average magnitude of 37%. And for rotational acceleration and oblique impact performance, where impact energy comes from an angle other than a linear 90-degree, or right-angle straight impact, the S-R10 exceeds the standard by 65%.

INNER SHELL THE S-R10’S INNER SHELL IS MADE FROM EPS IN DIFFERENT DENSITIES The S-R10 Helmet has four inner shells just like the outer shell, and is available in four anatomical sizes. The S-R10’s construction is optimized to ensure riders have the correct fit, which not only improves comfort and reduces overall weight but most importantly, improves the effectiveness of the helmet in an impact. Underneath the helmet’s outer shell is an eight-piece multi-density EPS liner, with six specific densities that are strategically positioned in different zones to ensure excellent energy absorption from impact forces dissipated over the outer shell, as well as a close and comfortable fit. The EPS liner, just like the outer shell, has its own unique dimension for each helmet size, further tailoring the helmet’s performance and fit when it comes to protection and comfort. LINEAR AND OBLIQUE FORCE MANAGEMENT The EPS inner surface is smooth, creating an optimized, low-friction area, for superior oblique impact management. When it comes to other types of helmet testing, the best helmets are those that provide protection against rotational, as well as oblique and linear impact forces. To help fight and mitigate those rotational, oblique, and linear impact forces, Alpinestars has designed a low-friction surface on the inner surface of the EPS liner. The inner surface is polished to be incredibly smooth, and then specially coated to reduce friction even further, allowing the comfort liner to move against the EPS. The result is increased rotational and oblique and linear force management, allowing the rider’s head to move independently inside of the helmet, or vice-versa, which can significantly reduce the amount of force transmitted to the head, neck, brain, and spine from an oblique impact, while simultaneously reducing the possibility of a concussion. To recap, specific rotational impact protection is provided by the combination of the internal shape and the specific coating of the EPS liner, coupled with the specially developed surface in the comfort liner. This patented technology reduces rotational acceleration transmitted to the rider’s head.

A-HEAD FITMENT SYSTEM Adding to the personalization and custom, tailor-made fit of the S-R10, is the helmet’s unique and patented A-Head Fitment System. The A-Head System allows the helmet to be tuned exactly to the rider’s preference by having the ability to adjust both the height and angle at which the helmet sits on the head. The EPS is fitted with the A-Head Fitment System that allows for an ultra-specific setup that can be adapted to how deep the rider’s head sits in the helmet, as well as how far forward or backward the helmet is tilted.

AERODYNAMICS DEVELOPED WITH CFD SIMULATIONS, VALIDATED IN THE WIND TUNNEL AND ON TRACK, THE S-R10 HELMET IS OPTIMIZED FOR LOW DRAG PERFORMANCE AND MAXIMUM AERODYNAMIC STABILITY The S-R10 has been developed in the full-scale wind tunnel since the beginning of its development. Aerodynamic targets for the coefficient of drag in different head positions, as well as stability at different angles were a primary goal in the helmet shape development, first extensively developed with Computational Fluid Dynamics, then validated in the full-scale wind tunnel, and finally on track. The result is a helmet that achieves the lowest level of drag, and the highest level of aerodynamic stability at high speed compared to any other race helmet that we have tested in the wind gallery. This has made the S-R10 already the helmet of choice by factory MotoGP teams for its top aero performance. Road riders will likely benefit from this too, with reduced strain on their necks at high speed and low levels of wind noise. The S-R10 Helmet comes with two separate aerodynamic spoilers – a standard, and longer race version – and they’re both fitted with an Alpinestars patented release system, with elastic joints that help the spoiler detach from the helmet shell if it is subjected to a significant impact, no matter the angle, to reduce potential rotational energy. The helmet also comes with lateral winglets to further support the S-R10’s stability and improve aerodynamic drag. In addition, the helmet visor has turbulators to improve aero-acoustic performance. As a result, compared to the aerodynamic performance of the helmet fitted with the standard road spoiler, the S-R10 itself is already the top-performing, aerodynamic helmet we have tested, and with the configuration of the race spoiler and the aero winglets together, we have achieved a reduction in drag by an additional 4.54%.

VENTILATION THE SUPERTECH R10 HELMET CONTAINS ELEVEN VENTILATION POINTS When it comes to ventilation and breathability, there are 11 ventilation ports, not including the eyeport, with 7 intakes including 3 in the chinguard and 4 on the top of the helmet, plus 4 exhausts, with 2 lateral ports on the chin bar, and 2 on the top rear of the helmet. These ventilation ports integrate directly with the helmet’s shell with a series of air ducts through the inner EPS liner. With the S-R10, airflow comes in through the ports, as well as actively circulates over and around the rider’s head through a series of channels, and then gets extracted out the back of the helmet.

The top vent features a large central slider that channels air down to the top of the head for better comfort, which when open, has vents for hot air extraction from the rider’s forehead. Under the rear spoiler, there are two extractor vents for effective hot air exhausting. The chin vents are formed by two openings located at the front of the helmet at the sides of the shield lock mechanism, where each flap has a tab in the corner, which is used to open or close the vent. Air entering from this point is channeled towards the inner side of the shields, creating a laminated flow of air that effectively prevents fogging and misting. In addition, the chin bar vents are used to extract humid air to the outside of the helmet.

SHIELD FEATURES THE SHIELD MECHANISM IS FITTED WITH METAL LOCK COMPONENTS TO PREVENT UNWANTED SHIELD DETACHMENT DURING IMPACTS, LOCKED IN THE CLOSED POSITION BY A FRONT METAL LOCK The visor has two unique features including a metal locking mechanism lever to prevent unwanted shield detachment during impacts and/or crashes, plus a lowered side line for a maximized field of view, coming on top of an already outstanding wide eyeport providing 220-degrees of lateral and 57-degrees of vertical visibility for great riding comfort. The shield attaches to the shell via side cams mechanisms, allowing the shield to rotate and to move, in order to seal it completely against the helmet’s rubber window trim. Additionally, the visor itself can be easily changed or removed thanks to its secure and tool-less quick-release system. The S-R10 is fitted with an Optical Class 1 shield, 3mm in thickness, and coated with an anti-scratch and anti-fog treatment. The shield is equipped with internal pins to accommodate a PINLOCK 120XLT - 100 % MAX VISION lens and external pins to accommodate tear-offs.

REMOVABLE LINING LININGS ARE REMOVABLE AND WASHABLE, AND FEATURE FABRICS WITH ANTI-MICROBIAL TREATMENTS Crown Pad: The crown pad and the neck pad are elastically connected, for enhanced oblique impact management, with a construction based on four panels (front, sides, rear), for an optimized fit with the proper foam thickness. Top Pad: The top pad is removable and height adjustable via the A-Head Fitment System. Cheek Pads: The cheek pads are fitted with premium foam and fabrics, offering comfort and breathability. The cheek pads also feature an emergency extraction system, allowing the side cheek padding to be easily removed by trackside support and medical staff, and they also have a channel for the installation of a hydration system.

CHIN BAR PROFILE Another outer shell design protection feature is the chin bar’s profile, where the base area has been specifically sculpted to give a relief section. The bottom profile is raised to clear the collarbone, and instead of the hard carbon shell coming into potential contact with the collarbone, the S-R10 has a softer EPP (expanded Polypropilene) liner which extends beyond the helmet shell itself, and is covered by a more flexible rubber compound. This chin bar design provides a reduced chance of any sort of collarbone injury, one of the more common injuries in motorcycling.WEIGHT And finally, when it comes to weight, the ECE / DOT / FIM certified Supertech R10 helmet tips the scales at an impressive 1,540 grams for a size medium, or 3.4 pounds, providing the S-R10 with an extremely high performance to protection to weight ratio. ALPINESTARS PROTECTS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVzJZQ7o1G4 For more Alpinestars news check out our dedicated page Alpinestars News You find out where to buy in the UK via Oxford Products website or head to the official Alpinestars website alpinestars.com/ Read the full article

#Alpinestars #AlpinestarsHelmet #AlpinestarsSupertechR10 #MotorbikeLeathers #MotorcycleBoots #MotorcycleGloves #MotorcycleNews #OxfordProducts

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