Oh the joys of being a world class motorcycle racer; not only do you get paid to ride a motorbike as your job but some of them are even lucky enough to have a go of driving a Formula 1 car. Movistar Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo was in Silverstone in Great Britain recently where he had a go of F1 champion Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Dreams can come true
This all came about because the Spanish rider had a wish, and it seems his sponsors, who he shares with Hamilton, where able to make it come true. Monster Energy drink made it possible for him to have a go of the Mercedes AMG Petronas W05 Hybrid which Hamilton won the 2014 F1 championship with.
Prior to having a go of the actual machine, Lorenzo spent time preparing for the event in a simulator before he moved on to having a go on the F2 car.
Future career for the three times world champion?
Apparently he impressed the team; his time on track has paid off. Maybe if it doesn’t work out at Ducati he will have other options elsewhere. This all comes years after a certain Italian teammate of his was about to make a switch on teams and he too was rumoured to have been contemplating a career switch.
Lorenzo describes his experience
Lorenzo was extremely grateful to Monster Energy “for giving [him] this opportunity”. What he described as “a great experience” driving the Formula 1 car for him was a “dream come true”.
Describing his few days he spent with them as “very special” he spoke of how he was given “the opportunity to work alongside some of the best engineers in at his sport, drove the F2 car, had simulator test sessions and finally, got to drive the real deal”.
Spaniard compares experience on four wheels to two
Talking about experiencing “driving a Formula 1 Car” he said it had been “an amazing day” and was left feeling “satisfied with the lap time in the last run”. Boasting about what “the engineers were saying”, apparently his times were “really competitive”. He described the car as being “so smooth” as he “expected a more twitchy and difficult car”, however he felt “in the end everything was good; the steering wheel, the engine, everything.”
He felt it was “quite easy to drive” and said that the “car in the corners is really, really fast” and that the “grip of the car is unreal”. Immediately as he completed his “first lap” he was able to “feel the power”, however explained “when you get used to it it’s similar to a MotoGP bike in the corners”. The difference being, “you are in a different world” as he found himself travelling “about 40kms faster in the middle of corners”.
He found it very surprising “how late you can brake” and also noticed that the “amount of grip the car can support in full throttles in the fast corners is insane".
Lane highly impressed by Lorenzo’s work ethic
Track Engineer at Mercedes AMG Petronas, Richard Lane, spoke of how it had “been great working with Jorge”, as from the “moment he arrived he’s been full of enthusiasm and keen to get stuck in.” He mentioned that “between each run” that Lorenzo had been “pouring over the data and looking for areas of improvement”.
Complementing the MotoGP rider he said, “You can see why he’s a multiple World Champion on two wheels” as he noticed his “interest in the detail of his performance” which he described as “impressive”. Lorenzo was said to have “taken feedback on board and improved with every run” and overall they found it had been “a great experience for [them] to work with Jorge”. He went on to “wish him all the very best for the rest of the MotoGP season” on behalf of himself and the team.