Valencia (Spain) – The 2015 MotoGP™ Championship was the most exhilarating as of yet and marked with countless rises and falls. The year was predominantly ruled by Yamaha as highlighted by Jorge Lorenzo‘s seventh Grand Prix wins this season, including his victory that was celebrated at the Movistar Gran Premio de Aragón, the Grand Prix that shared its title sponsor with the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team. The team also took the 2015 MotoGP™ Team Title that same race weekend.
Other achievements of the Majorcan this season include; his first ever four-race winning-streak from the fourth round in Jerez to the seventh round at Catalunya, his new record for most consecutive laps led by a rider, his strong result at Phillip Island that gave Yamaha the 2015 MotoGP™ Constructors‘ Title, his 40th MotoGP™ Grand Prix victory of his career, and his brilliant race at Valencia where he secured the 2015 MotoGP™ Rider Title.
With so many memorable racing moments achieved, Yamaha invites you to look back with them to the progression of the 2015 season. Take in the statistics and facts below to see how successful a year Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP and Yamaha have had and read all about how the now five-time World Champion‘s season progressed to new heights throughout his Grand Prix racing career.
JORGE LORENZO’S 2015 MILESTONES
GRAND PRIX OF QATAR
Lorenzo had a good start in Qatar, flying from sixth on the grid. He soon took over at the front, but was unable to create a lead. Swept up in a battle with Andrea Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone and teammate Valentino Rossi, he fought bravely, but with four laps to go was forced to let his teammate and rivals go due to a problem with his helmet, finishing in fourth place.
GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS
Having improved his best lap at Circuit of the Americas by more than 0.7s, Lorenzo had a perfect launch off the line in Austin but got caught up in a cluster of riders, falling back to sixth place until he started a mid-race charge. He continued his stride to the front, using the nimble character of the Yamaha YZR-M1 to the fullest and made smooth passes to claim fourth place.
GRAND PRIX OF ARGENTINA
Lorenzo was quick to attack from the grid start, taking third through the first corner then swiftly dealing with Aleix Espargarò for second and beginning the hunt for Marquez. The charge was to be short lived as the Majorcan struggled to make the harder rear tyre work for him, gradually dropping to take fifth at the line.
GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN
Lorenzo turned 28 the day before the race in Jerez and celebrated his birthday by taking his first victory of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Majorcan had a great launch from pole position, taking the holeshot into turn one. Completely in the zone he immediately put the hammer down and rode away from the pack to remain unchallenged for the rest of the race. The Majorcan achieved the full set of pole position, race win and fastest lap for the fifth time in the MotoGP™ class. The other occasions when he achieved this are: Estoril 2008 & 2010, Silverstone 2010 and Motegi 2013. With his win at Jerez, Lorenzo moved above Mick Doohan into fifth place in the all-time Grand Prix winners list with 55 victories.
GRAND PRIX OF FRANCE
Lorenzo was strong right from the beginning of the 28 lap sprint in Le Mans. With clear track in front of him, the Majorcan rode the textbook definition of a perfect race, leading from the first lap until the chequered flag. Thanks to his second consecutive victory, he became the most successful rider in Le Mans with five victories (four in MotoGP™ and one in 250cc). Futhermore, the win by Lorenzo at Le Mans was the 90th victory in the MotoGP™ category by Spanish riders since it became the premier-class in 2002.
GRAND PRIX OF ITALY
After a flying start at Mugello, Lorenzo quickly made his intentions clear. He quickly moved up to lead the way when he crossed the line for the first time. Once he arrived at the front, the race went exactly as he planned; he gradually built a gap and remained untouchable, as he had been at the previous two Grands Prix. The win is Lorenzo’s third at the Mugello circuit in four years and marked his 88th podium in the premier class, equalling Giacomo Agostini‘s fourth place in the all-time standings.
GRAND PRIX OF CATALUNYA
Lorenzo had a strong launch from third on the grid in Montmeló to take the holeshot. Leading the race from Marquez he tried to duplicate the previous perfect wins, but was unable to shake off his compatriot. Unfazed by the pressure from his rival, Lorenzo kept his riding smooth and consistent, which proved to be the key to success. With 23 laps to go, Marquez made a mistake in turn ten and crashed out of the race. The dramatic crash put Lorenzo in his favorite racing position; completely in control at the front and on his way to his first fourth consecutive race win of his career in front of his home fans. Moreover, Lorenzo was leading across the line at the end of every lap at four races in a row from start to finish (Jerez, France, Mugello and Montmeló). With the Catalunya victory Lorenzo matched Mike Hailwood to 37 wins in the 500/ MotoGP™ riders‘ all-time standings. He led for 103 consecutive laps, breaking the last record that belonged to Casey Stoner. The only two riders to have won a MotoGP™ race at Catalunya from pole position are Rossi in 2006 and Lorenzo in 2010.
DUTCH TT
It was a lonely race for Lorenzo in Assen. Starting from eighth on the grid he flew off the line, taking fifth in the first corner. With his teammate in his sights he had an incredible first lap and started to claw his way to the top three, but was unable to join the front-runners. With no other riders to spar with, he focused on managing the gap to the rider in fourth place and claimed third, his fifth podium in a row.
GRAND PRIX OF GERMANY
Lorenzo rocketed off the grid and surprised both fans and his competitors with his trademark ‘Por Fuera’ (around the outside) overtaking move to take over the lead. He pushed hard at the start of the race to extend his advantage, but was closely followed by Marquez. Unable to hold off attacks from the Spaniard and later from Rossi and Pedrosa, he had to relinquish his podium hopes and he dropped back to fourth, which he held over the line.
GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS
Lorenzo started from third on the grid at the ’brickyard‘ and took the holeshot as the field bunched up in the first corner. He put his head down to clear off at the front. The Yamaha rider kept the pace up lap after lap with a strong performance and led until three laps remained, when Marquez made his move. Lorenzo tried to pass back, but was unable to make it stick and had to settle for second place. Lorenzo‘s seven MotoGP™ podium finishes at the Indianapolis circuit mean he has stood on the rostrum there more often than any other rider.
GRAND PRIX OF CZECH REPUBLIC
Lorenzo had a brilliant start to the flowing circuit of Brno, taking the holeshot from pole and immediately tried to break away with Marquez running closely behind him. Riding faster than anyone on track, the pair created a gap to the group battling for third, but with 14 laps to go the Majorcan’s pace proved to be too hot for his rival, and he managed to break away. In his element, Lorenzo remained unthreatened for the remainder, claiming a first victory in Brno for Yamaha since 2010 by a convincing length. This victory marked 38th time Lorenzo stood on the top step of the podium in the MotoGP™ class, equalling Stoner.
GRAND PRIX OF GREAT BRITAIN
Lorenzo arrived at Silverstone leading in the championship standings for the first time of the year, but luck was not on his side. It was a tense start to the race when the rain picked up, making all riders decide to come into pit lane to swap bikes after the warm up lap, which left the race direction with no choice but to delay the start and reduce the race to 20 laps. When the reduced race got underway, Lorenzo also had a strong start from second on the grid to battle with Rossi and Marquez on the second lap for the lead. He did well to remain seated on his bike when he bashed fairings with Pol Espagraró and held on to third place, but lost valuable time and was unable to make up the gap that was created between him and the top two. The Majorcan continued to have a challenging outing as his visor fogged up. Continuing the race with impaired vision, he got involved in a scrap with Danillo Petrucci, Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa and secured fourth position.
GRAND PRIX OF SAN MARINO
Lorenzo became the second rider to have secured three pole positions at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli since the circuit was added in 2008 (the first rider was Stoner). Lorenzo looked set for a strong weekend, but more tricky weather and track condition affected his race results. The Majorcan started from pole position in San Marino and tried to shake off rival Marquez and teammate Rossi, until rain flags were being waved on lap six and the pace dropped noticeably. The leading trio decided to come in on lap seven and Lorenzo rejoined the track in fifth place, ahead of Marquez. As the race order was restored one lap later. Lorenzo continued to give his all and was lying in second place when the wet tyres started to drop on the drying asphalt. Rubber was flying off Lorenzo’s front tyre as he came in with eight laps to go and he reentered the race in fourth place. He was motivated to make his way back to the front and pushed hard, but got caught out by the difficult conditions in turn 15 and was unable to continue the race.
GRAN PREMIO MOVISTAR DE ARAGÓN
Lorenzo made up for two disappointing race results, with a flying start in Aragón from second on the grid to lead the MotoGP field into turn one with rival Marquez in pursuit. The Yamaha rider showed his usual stunning pace on the opening lap, creating an advantage of over half a second as they headed into the second lap. It was a lonely and comfortable race for the Majorcan, in which his incredible consistency proved unbeatable. He clinched the second win at the Aragón Movistar official Grand Prix in a row and received the by himself designed Aragón trophy. The victory was his 39th in the MotoGP™ class, the same number of wins Phil Read took riding for Yamaha (39 MotoGP™ class wins), and moved him above Stoner in the list of riders with most premier-class Grand Prix wins.
GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
Lorenzo had a good start to the wet race from pole at Twin Ring Motegi. He needed little time to take over at the front and made clear he meant business, but it wasn’t to last. As the track dried up, his front tyre started to deteriorate, forcing him to lower his pace and allowing his rivals to come closer. Lorenzo gave everything to keep his chasers at bay, but the front tyre was too degraded for a second consecutive double podium for Yamaha at Motegi. From this point on only the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders were in contention for the Rider Title. Lorenzo‘s third place finish at Motegi was the 95th time he has stood on the podium in the MotoGP™ class, equalling five times 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan. His‘s third place also means he is tied with Pedrosa for the position of second most successful rider at the Japanese circuit, behind Rossi, both holding six podium places each.
GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRALIA
Lorenzo had a good launch from third on the grid at Phillip Island and looked confident in an action filled race. There was a flurry of activity as the top four protagonists consisting of Lorenzo, Rossi Iannone, Marquez switched position multiple times, before the Majorcan managed to take over the lead for a second time with 25 laps to go and quickly tried to check out twice but, despite his consistency, Marquez reached the back of his bike. Lorenzo defended his leading position the best he could, but was caught in the last lap and had to settle for second. Lorenzo‘s second place won Yamaha the FIM 2015 MotoGP™ Constructors‘ Championship in Phillip Island. The title victory marks the constructor‘s 37th manufacturer title and it‘s 14th premier class constructers‘ crown.
GRAND PRIX OF MALAYSIA
One week later, Lorenzo gave another brilliant performance at Sepang International Circuit. Despite starting from the second row in a scorching hot and tension-filled race, he brought his YZR-M1 Yamaha home in second place and gave Movistar Yamaha MotoGP its tenth double podium of the season. This result reduced the gap to Rossi to seven points with only one round remaining.
GRAND PRIX OF VALENCIA
Lorenzo and Rossi both raised their games to another level during the season finale in Valencia. Lorenzo gave everything he had to keep his pursuers at bay from start to finish to secure a brilliant 40th MotoGP™ Grand Prix victory of his career. He took the Championship Title by five points, his third FIM 2015 MotoGP™ World Championship Title, with 330 points in Valencia. Lorenzo‘s victory was also the eleventh win of the year by Yamaha, equalling the biggest number of premier-class Grand Prix wins they have achieved in a single season in both 2010 and 2005. The last time Yamaha won the Rider Title in the MotoGP™ class was in 2012 with Lorenzo, who also scored the title in 2010. Moreover, thanks to Lorenzo‘s championship victory, Yamaha has secured its fifth MotoGP Triple Crown since the team category was added in 2002.
NOTES
Jorge Lorenzo Biography
Lorenzo was born on the Balearic island of Mallorca, Spain on 4th May 1987. He began riding motorbikes at home at the tender age of three and within months of taking to two wheels was competing in his first minicross races. In 1995, aged eight, he won the Balearic title and followed that up the following year by taking the Island’s minicross, trial, minimoto and junior motocross titles.
Lorenzo graduated to road racing and national competition in 1997 and it didn’t take him long to adjust, winning the Aprilia 50cc Cup in 1998. Despite officially being too young, a special dispensation in 2000 allowed him to compete in the Spanish 125cc series at the age of 13 and he made history the following year when competing in Europe and becoming the youngest ever winner of a European 125cc race.
The precocious teenager, once again showing that age was no restriction to a quick rise up the ranks of motorbike racing, made his first foray onto the world stage with Derbi at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez in 2002, the third round of the season. He did not reach the legal age of 15 until Saturday and therefore missed the first day of practice but was unfazed by this and impressed the paddock by qualifying for the race, cementing his position in the World Championship over the course of the season as he got to grips with the circuits. The young Majorcan hit the big time the following season, winning his first 125cc Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro and then going on to win three more races the following season, finishing fourth in 2004 and taking his podium tally to nine before making the step up to the quarter-litre class and switching to Honda machinery.
He joined Yamaha in 2008 and made an immediate impact on the MotoGP™ scene with an outstanding pole position at the opening round in Qatar, before finishing second in the race. A second pole position and another podium in round two proved it was no fluke; before he went on to take an incredible third pole and a deserved maiden win at the third race in Estoril. He returned to earth with a bump in China, when a crash in practice saw him fracture both ankles, although he battled on to finish fourth in the race before coming back with another podium next time around in France.
The middle part of the season was difficult for the young Spaniard as several more crashes left him with further injuries and battered confidence, but he never gave up and made it back to claim two more podiums and finished the season in fourth position as rookie of the year.
The 2009 season witnessed Lorenzo take four wins, standing on the podium an additional nine times and only missing out once in all 17 rounds on a front-row qualification, a remarkable show of consistency. He was Rossi’s only championship challenger in the latter half of the season and once that chance was gone, he focused on securing the number two spot, which he duly did in Valencia.
The 2010 season saw him take up where he left off in 2009, taking the fight to teammate Rossi from the first race. It soon became clear that Lorenzo was the man to beat that season, the young Majorcan went on to gather an impressive nine race wins on his way to securing his first ever MotoGP™ World Championship Title. In doing so he also broke the record for the number of points earned in a single season, accumulating 383 by the last race in Valencia.
For the 2011 MotoGP™ Championship, the then reigning World Champion teamed with a new racing partner, the 2010 MotoGP™ Rookie of the Year, Ben Spies. The Texan moved up from the Tech3 Yamaha Team to join Yamaha’s Factory Racing outfit in the bid for glory. Lorenzo put in a spirited fight to defend his title, recording three race wins and ten podium finishes during the season. A serious crash during round 16 at Phillip Island brought a premature end to the Majorcan’s season, securing second in the final standings with 260 points.
The 2012 season proved to be Lorenzo’s greatest yet. Against arguably the toughest challengers of his career in protagonists Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa he excelled from the start, taking the victory at the opening round of the year under the floodlights at Qatar. He went on to achieve an incredible record, taking six race wins over the season and always finishing either in first or second place with the exception of two DNFs. Lorenzo claimed his fourth World Title, his second in the premier class, at Phillip Island with one race remaining.
The 2013 season then unfolded as an incredible drama filled spectacle with extreme highs and lows. Rookie rider Marc Marquez became Lorenzo‘s nemesis, the young Spaniard snapping at his heels and grabbing race wins wherever possible. The defending champion fought back against the onslaught, scoring multiple race wins in the early part of the season until a catastrophic high-speed crash in practice in Assen left him with a broken collarbone. Racing fans were then treated to an incredible display of strength and courage as Lorenzo returned to the track just 24hrs after surgery to compete in the race and limit any damage. Disaster then struck again with another major crash, this time in Germany at the Sachsenring circuit, and he suffered further collarbone damage. The second half of the season saw a return to form with stunning victories in Japan, Australia and Spain bringing Lorenzo within a few points of a third title. His second place in the final standings was considered one of his greatest victories.
In 2014 the season didn’t start as planned for the four-time world champion with multiple surgeries over the winter leaving him in less than perfect physical condition as battle commenced against arch rival Marquez and teammate Rossi. A DNF in the opening race set the scene for a difficult first half of the season. Despite the set backs the loyalty of Lorenzo‘s fans was ultimately repaid in full as he came back fighting and delivered some stunning rides on his way to third in the standings. In particular the unforgettable masterclass in wet riding at Aragon in front of his Spanish fans stood out, and of course Yamaha‘s home race at the Motegi circuit in Japan was a stunning victory delivered with inch perfect performance. Lorenzo was able to climb back to third, sitting behind his teammate Rossi in the final standings.
Though the 2015 season started in a similar fashion, with bad luck in the form of helmet problems at the first two races, Lorenzo soon retuned to his usual ’headlines-making‘ form when he led the race in Jerez from start to finish and went on to duplicate his performance at the following races at Le Mans, Mugello and Montmeló. It was the first time in his MotoGP™ premier class career that the Spaniard won four races in a row and he did it in the best way possible; by being the first rider to cross the start-finish line every lap of the four races, breaking Stoner‘s record for simultaneous laps led and upping it to 103 consecutive laps.
A rejuvenated Lorenzo was back in contention for the title chase and turned out to be the only contestant that could offer his team-mate and championship standings leader Rossi some opposition. He followed his four GP win-strike up with solid podiums in Assen, Indianapolis and a win in Brno, so by the time the MotoGP™ circus arrived at Silverstone for the Grand Prix of Great Britain he was tied in points with Rossi for the lead in the championship, but held first place as he had secured more race wins.
Unfortunately the second half of the season saw more bad luck, with a fogged up visor at Silverstone, a very unexpected flag-to-flag race at Misano and tyre problems on a quickly drying Twin Ring Motegi circuit. These misfortunes saw the fight for the title continue to Phillip Island where one of the best races of the year took place, with Lorenzo and Rossi as two of the key players. Lorenzo‘s solid second place saw him enter the penultimate race at Sepang with a huge determination to bridge the gap to his team-mate. Despite a less than desirable starting place on the second row of the grid in the tense Grand Prix of Malaysia, he still managed to bring his Yamaha home in second place and improved his chances of winning the championship at the final round as his disadvantage to team-mate Rossi decreased to seven points. The last round in Valencia was one of the most mentally challenging weekends of Lorenzo‘s career. The pressure to perform was mounting, but the Spaniard delivered a brilliant performance in the climax of the season. As Rossi rode from the back of the grid to fourth, Lorenzo had to go all out to keep his Championship dream alive. Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were on his tail for the entire race; one mistake and it would be over, but the experienced Yamaha rider withstood the pressure and – even better – raised his game to a new level to take the victory and thus the Championship with a five points margin. to secure his fourth FIM MotoGP™ World Championship Title and hand Yamaha its fifth MotoGP™ Triple Crown since the team category was added in 2002.
The last time Yamaha won the Rider Title in the MotoGP™ class was in 2012 with Jorge Lorenzo, who also scored the title in 2010. He brought Yamaha’s premier class rider titles tally to 17 wins so far. Over this year full of trials and even some errors Lorenzo has proven, not only how high the level of premier class is at the moment, but also that his never-dying determination and incredible focus together with the Yamaha YZR-M1 remain an unbeatable combination that has much more racing history to write.