Seven years later, Jorge Lorenzo reveals a curious anecdote about his rivalry with Valentino Rossi in his Yamaha days.
Jorge Lorenzo has chosen to retire from racing at the end of the season MotoGP 2019 with Honda. An amicable parting from the Golden Wing marque after months of injuries and lackluster results, but the five-times world champion found it hard to say no to a test rider offer for his beloved Yamaha brand with which he raced for nine years and won three championship titles.
Seven seasons in which he shared the box with Valentino Rossi, offering moments of pure entertainment and writing some of the most exciting pages of the MotoGP. With the MotoGP chapter definitively closed, he remained tied to the paddock as TV commentator for Dazn, also offering his presence in a docu-series, the latest entitled ‘Cuatro Tiempos’, giving away some interesting anecdotes for all fans of the sector.
Jorge Lorenzo and the rivalry with Valentino Rossi
Personal rivalry has always been a salient ingredient in the career of Jorge Lorenzo. Starting with the one with Dani Pedrosa, compatriots and rivals since the 125 class, the real tussle also began in the 250, then continuing in the premier class. “I remember that in the Spanish press there was more talk of the 250 than of MotoGP. In 2003, when we passed each other in the paddock, Dani didn’t even look at me, we never said goodbye“.
The challenge between the two had become a matter of honor for the Majorcan, as well as an important incentive to do better every weekend. “I was looking for that rivalry, because having an opponent motivated me“. Those weren’t the times of social media, the confrontation always and only took place on the track, in the pits or in front of journalists. As in the times of the famous “wall” between Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. An epic tension only culminated when the Doctor decided to attempt the adventure in Ducati in 2011 and 2012.
In 2013 the champion from Tavullia made an about-face, there seemed to be no longer the tension of previous years. But in 2015 the two Yamaha riders both find themselves fighting for the world title, the climate of tension rises again, up to the Sepang events. Valentino Rossi forces Marc Marquez to crash, Jorge gets in the way asking for a penalty for his box mate. The Race Direction forces the Pesaro to start from the last row in the decisive Grand Prix in Valencia. “At the airport, at the end of the 2015 season, I asked Mela Chercoles (Spanish journalist, ed) di asked myself a question at the press conference and wondered if Valentino deserved the title. If he had won for me he would not have been a deserved champion. I wanted to pressure him to feel inferior. I also created that rivalry through the press“.
