Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Lorenzo has recalled the ‘most ridiculous’ moment of his highly successful career in MotoGP, one that left Yamaha’s top brass ‘super angry’.
The moment took place at the 2014 Grand Prix of the Americas, the second round of the campaign that year, and in the midst of Marc Marquez’s sheer domination of the premier class during his sophomore term in the sport.
Despite it only being the second round of the season, Jorge Lorenzo was under some pressure already, having crashed out from the lead of the season-opener in Qatar.
A bold statement from Marc Marquez! 👀 Do you agree that Jorge Lorenzo was his biggest rival?
He arrived in Texas with zero points to his name in the championship standings, while Marquez had already accrued 25 after his win under the lights in Lusail.
As the grid lined up at the Circuit of the Americas in anticipation of the lights dropping, Lorenzo seemingly started seconds before the rest of the grid. The Yamaha rider passed the three occupants of the front row before the race had even begun.
- READ MORE: Jorge Lorenzo says MotoGP rule changes ‘changed everything’ in his fight with Marc Marquez
Jorge Lorenzo recalls his false start at the 2014 Americas Grand Prix
During a recent episode of the Duralavita podcast, Lorenzo recalled his false start at the Circuit of the Americas, preluding his story by stating it as the ‘most ridiculous and embarrassing’ moment of his MotoGP career.
He said, “I remember that in Qatar, I crashed on the first lap while leading the race, and I arrived in Austin with zero points. Practice was a disaster; I was getting tired on the bike, I was slow, and Marquez took pole position. It was a disaster, right?
“I was on the second row, and already on the warm-up lap, I felt like I was short of breath. And we’d only done the initial warm-up lap. I pulled to a stop, and I saw quite a few mosquitoes. Then I really started to hesitate for a moment, thinking, ‘Should I take it off, or should I not?’
“In the end, I finally decided to take off the tear-off right while the flag marshal was slowly moving away from the track, and that simple act distracted me.
Do you agree with Jorge Lorenzo’s take on modern MotoGP?
“When I looked back up, suddenly I saw a bright light coming on, and I thought that meant the race had started. I don’t know why, and so I decided to release the clutch and go. I left three or four seconds before everyone else, and the other riders were completely stunned, obviously.
“I realised the mistake because I had already passed the entire front row, including Marquez, Pedrosa, and Bradl, who I think was in third place at the time. It was already too late; I couldn’t go back.
“I didn’t know what to do, so I just said, ‘If they’re going to give me a ride-through, I’ll just keep going’. So I went flat out. It was incredible, imagine the people, the countless millions and millions of spectators were completely stunned. Yamaha was super angry.”
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
