Jorge Lorenzo recounts his ordeal: "I had even lost my beard

Jorge Lorenzo said goodbye to MotoGP in 2019, after an annus horribilis on the Honda. In reality, the Majorcan champion did not only have to deal with injuries and a bike he couldn’t manage, but also with legal issues that robbed him of the mental serenity needed to keep racing.

After sensational years with Yamaha, with which he won three MotoGP titles, Jorge Lorenzo first tried his luck with Ducati in 2017-2018, then chose to share the Honda garage with Marc Marquez. A move strongly desired by Alberto Puig as well, eager to assemble an unbeatable dream team. However, what was happening inside the number 99’s helmet was much more serious than a simple lack of feeling. While he was trying to tame the RC213V, the Spaniard was fighting a parallel war that was consuming him from within.

The five-time world champion recently opened up on Jordi Wild’s podcast, and his words painted a harrowing personal picture. The Spanish Tax Agency demanded over 35 million euros from him for the tax years between 2013 and 2016. The accusation was based on the premise that his residency in Switzerland was a sham, something the rider has always denied.

The stress didn’t just cause sleepless nights; it took a toll on his mind and body. "Leaving the entire outcome to the courts and to whatever decision a judge makes causes brutal anxiety and stress. In fact, in 2019, in addition to the poor results with Honda, I started getting bald patches in my beard and losing hair. If you look at the photos, I lost 90% of my beard."

The Spanish tax authorities pursued Jorge Lorenzo even inside the MotoGP paddock during Grands Prix, with real raids inside his motorhome. Seeing agents putting pressure on him before he went out on track was a heavy blow to his morale. Jorge Lorenzo complains that he had to shell out millions of euros just for his legal defense. "They were asking me for millions, and you have to deposit them. It’s the opposite of Italy, where you only have to deposit 10% of what they ask; here it’s 100% plus fines, surcharges, interest...."

The rider’s defense had to prove that the center of his vital and economic interests was in Lugano. In the end, the courts spoke and clarified their position. The Central Economic-Administrative Court (TEAC) ruled in Lorenzo’s favor in several judgments between 2021 and 2023, rejecting the tax authorities’ claims because it could not be proven that he had spent more than 183 days in Spain. But the damage was already done. Those years of uncertainty weighed heavily, although the final call from his lawyers brought relief scarcely comparable to any trophy.

The emotion of that moment even surpasses that of crossing the finish line first. "We proved it, and the judge declared me innocent. And then one day, unexpectedly, my lawyers called me and said: ‘We have good news, you’ve won the case with the tax authorities.’ That was one of the happiest days of my life, even more than when I won many world championships, because life can change, it can be unjustly ruined," confesses the MotoGP legend.

In the end, his beard grew back too. "And when I won, a week and a half later my beard grew back. Imagine the stress. One of the reasons I retired was precisely this issue with the tax authorities." From next year we will see Jorge Lorenzo back in the MotoGP paddock, this time not as a rider, but as coach to Maverick Vinales.