Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Lorenzo will embrace a new role in 2026, as the three-time MotoGP champion has agreed to become the performance coach of KTM Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales.
Lorenzo reached an agreement with Vinales near the end of the 2025 season to support his fellow Spaniard in his quest to improve. It has now been six years since Lorenzo retired after a 12-year career in the premier class, so he wants to pass on all of his knowledge to Vinales.
The 2026 MotoGP season will mark Vinales’ 12th year in the field, having debuted for Suzuki in 2015 before he replaced Lorenzo at Yamaha in 2017, moved to Aprilia mid-season in 2021 and joined Tech3 in 2025. Vinales signed a two-year works contract with KTM to join Tech3.
Vinales has earned 10 wins, 35 podiums and 15 pole positions across his 194 MotoGP Grand Prix entries to date. Lorenzo secured 47 wins, 114 podiums and 43 poles from his 203 Grand Prix entries in total, as well as winning the riders’ title with Yamaha in 2010, 2012 and 2015.
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Jorge Lorenzo wishes he had a rider coach like Mick Doohan or Max Biaggi
Now that Lorenzo has agreed to be Vinales’ performance coach, he wishes that hiring an ex-rider for their assistance was more common during his MotoGP career. Lorenzo would have loved to have had the chance to work closely with Mick Doohan or Max Biaggi in the garage.
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Lorenzo told Motorsport.com: “In tennis, since the 1970s, all players have had tennis coaches. In football, coaching is very important. In motorcycling, until now, people only went to train and ride.
“If we analyse it, my father was the first pure coach. I would have liked to have [had] a world champion like Doohan or Biaggi by my side, and a technical coach, like my father, with all the knowledge he has accumulated.”
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Doohan retired due to injury in the 1999 500cc season, after winning the 500cc title in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. Biaggi stopped racing in MotoGP at the end of 2005, but he did not retire until 2015 after moving to the World Superbike Championship from 2007 to 2012.
Biaggi also won two WSBK titles in 2010 and 2012 to add to his four consecutive 250cc titles from 1994 to 1997. The Italian also finished second for the 1998 500cc season to Doohan by 52 points, before losing to Valentino Rossi by 106 points in 2001 and also 140 points in 2002.
Biaggi was one of Rossi’s greatest rivals, having become bitter foes before they even shared the 500cc grid. Lorenzo would also become one of Rossi’s great rivals during their time with Yamaha, and beat the Italian by 150, 187 and five points during his title-winning campaigns.
Rossi felt Marc Marquez helped Lorenzo win the 2015 MotoGP title, which ignited his rivalry with the former of the Spaniards. And given how hostile Lorenzo and Rossi’s rivalry became, it could have been interesting to see how Rossi would have dealt with Biaggi helping his foe.
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