When you’re a world champion and you want to show off your stuff, why not create a museum that includes some memorabilia from your buddies, your heroes, and even a rival or two? Jorge Lorenzo tried it for himself – the #99 he wore in MotoGP inspired the name – so here’s a quick photo tour.
NOTE: Vy and I visited this museum in the summer of 2018 but it closed in early 2019. With that said, I’ll still refer to it in the present tense in this story.
Vy and I encountered this museum while we were on a 2-up vacation through the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of our trip, we stopped in the capital of Andorra and I was surprised to discover Jorge’s museum right across the street from our hotel. We had to check it out, right?
The entrance is on the first floor, where you’ll find a restaurant and bar. Ask to go to the museum and you’ll have to pay a small fee and then take some stairs to the second floor. The exhibit starts with some of Lorenzo’s idols in F1 with basic stats and their driving suits.
Immediately after is the same with Lorenzo’s MotoGP heroes.
All hail King Kenny. I had the chance to speak with him once for about 30 seconds – he spent the whole time telling me how much he liked Indian food.
Freddie Spencer’s iconic Arai.
There’s even a signed helmet and other gear from a strong rival, Marc Marquez.
It’s not a large building, but a dedicated MotoGP fan could easily spend 30-60 minutes here poring through all the details – this is about a third of what’s on offer.
The closest I’ll get to a MotoGP championship trophy. Jorge has three of them (2010, 2012, and 2015).
He’s also got plenty of awards for winning Pole Position at individual races.
It’s not clear from the above angle, but each case is a mini-helmet.
I really like the MotoGP championship trophy, but it does amuse me that it’s significantly smaller than the championship trophy for an individual race (in this case, Valencia in 2015).
Speaking of championships, here’s a crankshaft from Yamaha Factory Racing, given to him as a thank you after winning 3 MotoGP Rider Championships and helping Yamaha earn 3 Triple Crowns (rider championship, constructor championship, and team championship in the same year). Note Vy in the corner, wondering what she’s doing with her life while she waits for me to go through the rest of the museum.
Jorge’s 2015 championship-winning bike was on display.
A label on the glass states that this bike made 256 horsepower and weighed just 348 pounds.
One of my favorite sections was the different gear that Jorge has won over the years, especially because I’m a sucker for helmet designs.
My personal favorite was the “Astronaut”. Note how it says “GANA” in the NASA font – that’s Spanish for the verb “win.”
Here’s a worse angle of the helmet, but it shows a photo of how the helmet matches the rest of his gear.
I don’t really like this one but it is very distinctive: the “Swarovski.”
As noted above, the museum has unfortunately since folded. But hopefully this little Picture Intermission gave you a taste if you weren’t able to visit yourself! If you’re hankering for more motorcycle museum goodness, here’s another one that Vy and I visited that same day of our trip. More from our Iberia trip coming soon!