Schwantz backs Lorenzo to bounce back in 2014

Kevin Schwantz believes dethroned MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo will bounce back from defeat to rookie Marc Marquez in 2014.

Lorenzo surrendered the premier class crown by just four-points to Spanish rival Marquez, who broke records galore on his way to a historic success in a tremendous rookie campaign.

Lorenzo won more races and led more laps than any other rider in 2013 but was unable to clinch a third MotoGP title for Yamaha.

His challenge was severely hampered by heavy crashes in Assen and the Sachsenring that left him with a broken left collarbone and well below 100% fitness for the Laguna Seca and Indianapolis races.

While he was injured, Marquez went on a phenomenal four-race winning streak. But 1993 world champion Schwantz believes Lorenzo will come back stronger and more determined to wrestle back the title this year when the 2014 campaign gets underway in Qatar on March 23.

The Lucky Strike Suzuki legend told MCN: “Coming back from the broken collarbone and racing again that same weekend means you can’t take anything away from him. Any mere mortal can tell that the Yamaha is not quite the package that the Honda is. Will that make Yamaha work harder or will it make him leave for Honda? He has done the best he can with what he has and there is nobody even close to getting the potential out of the Yamaha that Lorenzo can. He’s won two world titles, so Jorge is strong enough mentally. He’ll hope to have some better equipment but Jorge is nowhere near finished that’s for sure.”