Jorge Lorenzo in the wall in Monaco

Jorge Lorenzo faced the Porsche Supercup peloton for the first time this weekend. A difficult task on a circuit as difficult as Monaco.

Published on 29/05/2023 à 11:05

Gautier Calmels

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Jorge Lorenzo in the wall in Monaco

Jorge Lorenzo spared no effort © Porsche

Although the five-time Motorcycle World Champion that he is, and will remain forever, Jorge Lorenzo knew when he arrived in the Principality of Monaco that he was reaching a new level in his ambitious project of reconversion from 2 to 4 wheels.

After Porsche Carrera Cup Italie en 2022, Jorge Lorenzo a décidé de revoir ses objectifs à la hausse en s’engageant en Supercup en 2023. Disputée en ouverture des Grand Prix de Formula 1 European, the Porsche Supercup is the pinnacle of brand promotion formulas. Among its prestigious winners, we can find among others Emmanuel Collard (1996), Stéphane Ortelli (2002), René Rast (2010-2012) Earl Bamber (2014) or even the official driver of the Safety Car F1, Jörg Bergmeister!

Lorenzo was initially due to make his debut at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, on an Imola circuit that he knows like the back of his hand having beaten it countless times in practice and in the Italian Carrera Cup. . But the cancellation of the meeting due to the severe bad weather which affected the region postponed these big debuts in Monaco! A circuit that he only knew on a simulator and which is, let's admit it, not really ideal for starting at this level of competition.

A race well worth a selfie © Lorenzo99

Therefore we should not expect a miracle from the Majorcan who qualified in an anonymous 26th place out of 28 entrants. “I improved by around two seconds in qualifying compared to practice, which is positive. However, I'm still too far from the fastest, admitted Lorenzo after the session. My goal for the race is to do better than finishing 20th. »

But the hopes of the five-time motorcycle world champion unfortunately ended prematurely on the 5th lap. At Mirabeau, the Martinet by Alméras driver, Alessandro Ghiretti, spun and stopped in the middle of the line. Lorenzo unfortunately could not avoid it and damaged his suspension in the impact. The Spaniard managed to bring his 911 GT3 Cup back into the pits, but retirement was inevitable.

Jorge will have to wait until July 2 to get back behind the wheel of his Porsche for the European tour which will pass through Austria, England, Hungary and Belgium in one month. Zeltweg, Silverstone, Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps on the menu of a copious program which will allow it to measure itself in a more balanced frame of reference against the GT elite

READ ALSO> Jorge Lorenzo arrives in Porsche Supercup

Gautier Calmels

Journalist MotoGP, Nascar, Rallye France, Endurance and Classic... Among others.

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