Jorge Lorenzo bags the win on his Virtual MotoGP debut
Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider Jorge Lorenzo dominated his first ever MotoGP Virtual Race today. Staged at the Silverstone Circuit, a track that the Spaniard also likes in real life, he took this Wild Card opportunity to showcase his video game skills, taking pole position and going on to take the #VirtualBritishGP MotoGP win.
His P1 position on the grid gave Lorenzo the perfect chance to get off to a flying start. He went a little bit wide in Turn 1, but used a sweeping line to slot into second place behind Petronas Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo. He was looking for a way back through when LCR Honda Idemitsu's Takaaki Nakagami once again lived up to his ’Kamikaze‘ Virtual MotoGP nickname, knocking Lorenzo out of the track in Turn 3.
But you can‘t keep a good man down for long. Although Lorenzo had fallen back to sixth place he was on the move again. On lap 3 he was already back up to fourth and had a hard battle with Ducati Corse's Michele Pirro. He prevailed on lap 4, taking third place thanks to his ability to pick the right lines also in the MotoGP20 game
With five laps to go, race leader Nakagami took a fall, allowing Lorenzo through. The number 99 had the eye of the tiger and was making up ground to Reale Avintia (Ducati) Racing's Tito Rabat in P1. Three laps before the chequered flag, Lorenzo was right behind Rabat and used his MotoGP and video game experience to pick the perfect overtaking spot. He executed his move on lap 8 and made it stick. Rabat tried to retaliate, aggressively bumping into the Yamaha M1, but Lorenzo was unshaken and showed just how strong his mentality and video gaming skills are.
Lorenzo comfortably held on to the lead and crossed the finish line with a convincing 1.501-second margin over his closest rival, earning the Factory Yamaha Team its second MotoGP Virtual Race win and fifth podium.
Speaking on his performance after the race, Lorenzo said, "I was very happy to join this race. I've been a great fan of video games ever since I was very young, and little by little I acquired some skills, especially with motorsport games such as MotoGP, Formula1, and Rally. I think it was a great idea to start these virtual racing competitions during the lockdown, and now I‘ve finally been able to join in for my first virtual race. The MotoGP video game has become more and more realistic, and especially this year they made a big step. One of the coolest things are the updates that improve the riding realism and feeling."
