Jorge Lorenzo announces retirement from MotoGP

Three-time MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has officially confirmed he is retiring at the conclusion of the 2019 MotoGP season this weekend in Valencia.

The Spaniard, winner of the five grand prix titles in total, has struggled for form since joining Repsol Honda at the start of the 2019 season in part due to a series of injuries.

As such, Lorenzo will hang up his leathers after this weekend's Valencia MotoGP bringing the curtain down on a glittering career that has yielded 47 MotoGP victories and the overall title in 2010, 2012 and 2015, all with Yamaha

Calling an ‘extraordinary’ press conference in Valencia, scene of his 2015 MotoGP World Championship title win, Lorenzo officially revealed this weekend’s event will be his last, citing the troubles of his injuries as one of the primary reasons and his ongoing struggles on the Honda RC213V.

The Spaniard joined Honda in 2019 in a quest to take the fight to Marquez having enjoyed race-winning form with Ducati in 2018, but he was already struggling for pace before a crash at Assen injured his back and forced him onto the sidelines.

With pressure mounting on him to turn his fortunes around amid his own assertion he needed time out recover fully, Lorenzo has instead taken the opportunity to call time on his MotoGP on his own terms.

"I always thought that there are four significant days for a rider," he told the assembled media, plus the MotoGP riders. "The first is you first race, the second your first win and then your first world championship – not everyone can win a world championship but some of us made it – and then the day you retire.

"As you all imagine here, I am here to announce that this day has arrive for me. This will be my last race in MotoGP and after this race I will retire as a professional racer."

His exit is likely to open the door for Johann Zarco – currently substituting on LCR Honda for the injured Takaaki Nakagami – to join the HRC team full-time, though the outfit does have other options in promoting Cal Crutchlow or hiring test rider Stefan Bradl.