Jorge Lorenzo inducted into MotoGP hall of fame

Making his debut in MotoGP in 2008 with Yamaha as a double 250cc world champion, Lorenzo would go on to win 47 races and three premier class world titles in 2010, 2012 and 2015.

Lorenzo switched to Ducati in 2017 and joined an elite list of riders to have won races for multiple manufacturers when he managed three victories in 2018.

After an injury-plagued 2019 campaign with Honda, Lorenzo announced his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season.

Lorenzo took on a role as Yamaha test rider for 2020, before being replaced by Cal Crutchlow in 2021, and now does punditry for Spanish television in MotoGP.

In a ceremony at Jerez – where he has a corner named after him – Lorenzo joined contemporaries in the likes of Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner in being inducted into the MotoGP hall of fame.

Jorge Lorenzo

Photo by: MotoGP

Commenting on the honour, Lorenzo says it “means even more than the championships” he won.

“After 20 years I am here, sitting here after the numbers I could achieve,” he said. “So, I can say that I arrived at that level of the 125cc rivals.

“But more than that, I could achieve better numbers than all the riders apart from Rossi that was in the championship.

“So, apart from that I met wonderful people, I raced against the best in the world.

“Now today I get this legend prize from Dorna, that always treated me so well and this means even more than the championships because all the legends are champions, but not all the champions can be legends.

“So, I’m very lucky to be part of these legends.”

Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP Legend

Photo by: MotoGP

Lorenzo was due to be inducted into the hall of fame last year, but the ceremony had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well as still having involvement in MotoGP on the television side, Lorenzo is racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italy in 2022 and contested the Imola round of the Porsche Supercup – finishing 30th on his debut.