some more on the lorenzo-guerrero family dynamic
"Everything we earned, which wasn't much, was spent on racing. There's a hint of sadness in María's voice, because she can't help but be reminded of certain bitter suggestions that she never did anything for Jorge. 'If it was down to you, the boy would have never amounted to anything, Chicho once told her. She didn't get to spend as much time with Jorge as his father did because she spent all day working - first as a courier and then as a cook in a hotel - and all to try and help finance Chicho's project with Jorge. In racing, money is more than important, it is fundamental. (Jorge Lorenzo: My Story So Far, p.134)
At the age of four [Jorge's sister] Laura used to ride with Jorge and Chicho on their off-road excursions. Her father taught her well, but she never liked riding at the track. The off-road stuff was one thing but when she rode at the circuit she would get scared and throw herself to the ground, crashing on purpose so that her father wouldn't encourage her to ride any more. (p.134)
Jorge knew how to drag his knee on the tarmac but he didn't know how to raise his hand and greet people, how important it was to say 'please', 'thank you' or 'goodbye'. Chicho's training methods had been tough and effective, but there was plenty of room for the teaching of good manners. 'Chicho was really harsh on Jorge when he didn't do well', says María. 'I remember being at a circuit one day when he was training and after one bad lap his father said: "What a shit lap that was!" That kind of attitude always wound Jorge up. He got back on the bike and rode a perfect lap. For every action, a reaction. María couldn't understand why Chicho would say such things to a small child because she could see that he was getting on the bike angry, desperate to show his father that he could do better, and the risk of falling was much greater. 'Now what?' Jorge would retort. 'What about the time I just did?' (p.138)
