Jorge Lorenzo backed to recover from nightmare start to 2014

Jorge Lorenzo’s factory Yamaha boss Wilco Zeelenberg has backed the Spaniard to fight back from a disastrous start in his bid to wrestle the MotoGP crown away from Marc Marquez.

Lorenzo won eight races in 2013 but still lost the title to Marquez by just four-points after a nail-biting final round shootout in Valencia.

After two truly awful races into 2014, Lorenzo is already 44-points behind an unbeaten Marquez and only 16th in the rankings.

Lorenzo crashed out of the lead on the opening lap in Qatar and his nightmare start to 2014 continued at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend when he finished 11th after a shocking jump start meant he had to complete an early ride through the pit lane.

Lorenzo’s Factory Yamaha boss Zeelenberg though told MCN: “It is a big challenge to recover what we have lost. It is very early but Marc has won two races in a row and he is the world champion and we have to step back and give him credit for what he is doing. We need to fight back. It is a very big challenge but we will not give up. We can only focus race by race but the first challenge is to try and fight for the podium again and give the fans a show they deserve. Winning or not, Jorge should at least be up there and be battling with the other riders. It is new for him to start the season like this and we have already lost a lot of points. But if one rider is mentally very strong then it is Jorge.”