THREE-TIMES MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo has stunned fans by announcing his retirement from the sport at the end of the 2019 season.
The 32-year-old from Palma de Mallorca is due to give a press conference today (Thursday) at 15.00 mainland Spain time in the meeting room at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Cheste, near Valencia, where the final Grand Prix of the year will take place this coming Sunday, November 17.
Repsol Honda rider Jorge was world champion in 250cc in 2006 and 2007, then in MotoGP in 2010, 2012 and 2015 – but from 2013 onwards, Jorge has only reached the top slot once as every other year it has gone to Catalunya prodigy Marc Márquez.
During his career, which started in 2002 when he was just 15, Jorge has also ridden for Derbi, Honda, Aprilia, Yamaha and Ducati.
He has 152 podiums, including 68 race victories, to his name, and 68 pole positions.
Jorge's dad Chicho Lorenzo built his first bike for him when he was just three years old, and was his technical trainer until he was 18.
His mum María Guerrero has also competed in endurance and speed competitions, although it is not known whether his younger sister Laura has followed the family tradition.
Jorge has a street named after him in Porto do Son, Galicia, where he spent every summer until his teens at his paternal grandparents' home.
After a stint living in Barcelona, where he finished his education, Jorge moved to Lugano, Switzerland two-and-a-half years ago to live with his dad, who became his trainer once again in 2012.
The former 'Ducados Bend' on the Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz province) circuit, known as the 'cathedral of motorsport' and now officially named after the late Ángel Nieto, was re-baptised in 2013 as the 'Lorenzo Bend'.
He was reserve world champion in MotoGP in 2009, 2011 and 2013, the latter behind Márquez, and came third in the standings in 2014 and 2016 – in fact, his lowest position at MotoGP level, and in his entire adult life, was fourth, in 2008.
But the last three seasons have been disappointing – after moving from Yamaha to Ducati in 2017, he finished seventh in the world championship standings, then ninth the following year, before shifting to Repsol Honda for 2019.
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