Lots of famous clashes at the final corner of Jerez—the Jorge Lorenzo-Marc Marquez clash in 2013 is the most recent. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
Anyone in racing knows the last corner is everything when you’re in the midst of a blood-thirsty battle. But the final corner of Jerez—named Jorge Lorenzo Corner no less—has seen more last minute victories and defeats than almost any other in modern MotoGP history.
Season 2015 is shaping up to rival the all-time classics, with Valentino Rossi at the start of producing an almost Hailwood-like comeback; Marc Marquez determined to stay atop the throne and a cast of would-be players ready to pounce should things get messy. It sounds odd to call riders like Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso ‘would-be players’, but that’s the level Rossi and Marquez are now playing at.
Jerez is traditionally the first European race of the season and victory here brings certain bragging rights. For years the Jerez-race win was the one that eluded Casey Stoner, until the plucky little Aussie erased the demons and took that long awaited trophy in 2012. It would prove one of his sweetest triumphs—defeating the Spanish armada on their home turf is a victory reserved only for the very best.
The last corner of Jerez was first made famous by the madness of the 1996 500cc Spanish Grand Prix. Alberto Puig made history the previous year by taking the first ever Spanish victory in the premier class event on his Fortuna Honda, but for 1996, it would be the season in which Alex Criville would step up to be a genuine challenger of then two-time World 500cc Champion, Mick Doohan. With just over one lap to go, Criville had the lead and the Spanish crowd, situated at the double right of Curva Angel Nieto, invaded the track, waiting for their victorious champion, Criville. The only thing was, there was a lap to go and Doohan was getting ready to pounce. Criville negotiated past the invaders, Dooohan closed in and stuffed his Repsol Honda down the inside of his teammate on the final corner. Clear through, Criville got on the gas too hard, too early, highsided himself into next week, and Doohan took the trophy to an orchestra of boos.
Valentino Rossi v. Sete Gibernau in 2005 was another clash for the history books.
It would be another nine years before another classic Jerez last corner encounter—perhaps the most famous of all. In 2005 Sete Gibernau and Valentino Rossi were at the height of their personal war, with Rossi taking the title the previous season in his first year with Yamaha. Victory in Spain meant everything for the nephew of Señor Bultaco, and with one corner to go, Gibernau was on course for his second coveted home Grand Prix victory. That was until Rossi used his Yamaha as a battering ram, straight-lining the machine on the brakes and into a turning Gibernau. Gibernau was knocked off course into the gravel trap, and Rossi pulled a wheelie half the length of the Jerez front straight to victory.
In recent moments, almost any time there’s been controversial contact, the name Marquez has been at the end of the sentence. And so it was in 2013, the year the young Spaniard broke pretty much every record that could be broken for a rookie, that the latest last corner of Jerez duel formalized. But this wasn’t for the victory. Dani Pedrosa had long cleared off, leaving Jorge Lorenzo defending from a fast finishing Marquez. And just like Rossi nearly a decade previously, Marquez saw a gap on the final lap, barging past Lorenzo in almost a harder fashion than that of his hero Rossi. Lorenzo was sent into the gravel, but still recovered to finish in third.
And now we head to Jerez for the 2015 Spanish MotoGP. Marquez is injured, and Rossi is riding a wave of confidence not seen since his halcyon days of a decade ago—who is betting against another last corner of Jerez blood bath?
