Jorge Lorenzo: “Valentino Rossi was kind to the cameras - I could not and did not want to do that”
Teammates and rivals Lorenzo and Rossi battled on and off-track, infamously creating a wall down the centre of their garage to pre♔vent secrets leaking to the other side.
Their differing personalities defined their era of MotoGP - Rossi was c⛦haracterised as affable and lovable, Lor🐓enzo as aloof and cold.
"For better or fo𓆏r worse I always said what I thought"🐷, Lorenzo said.
"I was authentic because I had to go out and compete༒. Rossi knew how to be kind to the cameras before going out, while for me it was something I couldn't and didn't want to do.
"T🦋here are different t𒁃ypes of riders - those who are nicer and get along well with everyone and those who are more with the team.
“I didnꦓ't ge🃏t along very well because I was always working."
Lorenzo ended his career with three premier class championships, compared to Rossi’s seven. They each won two world champions🐲hips with the other as their teammate.
Lorenzo said about retiring♌ from MotoGP: "What I miss most is winning.
“I believe that one is born competitive because of genetics or th🅷at directly he does not like to compete. I'm very competitive, at school I invented games with my friends to beat them.”
He hated defeat even as a child, he explained: "You have no other choice, I had to learn when I was 10 years old. Out of 7 races I won 6, but wꦇhen I didn't win and finished third I didn't even want to get on the podium."
But Lorenzo reveals how age can inhibit a rider: "At 20 in the wet I won, but at 30 my head stopp🦹ed my wrist and did not let me give gas because I saw the danger.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything f𝓀rom American sports, to football, to F1.
