A visible separation, in the form of a wall between the two sides of the factory&nbs🔥p;Yamaha garage, had been officially triggered by a different tyre supplier for 🌸2008 rookie Lorenzo and then five-time MotoGP champion Rossi.

But the wall remained in place even after the 2009 single tyre rule and the separation then escalated to include a block on data sharinꦯg during aไ grand prix weekend, at Rossi's request, for the 2010 campaign.

"In consideration of the fact that the two riders are the main rivals for the championship, we have decided to respect this competition internally and to respect their own ways to race and to approach the competition, so during the weekend the two teams [sides] will be much more independent," Yamaha team manager Davide Brivio explained at the s𓆉tart of the season. "Not much information can be exchanged between the two te♔ams."

"Each team [Rossi and Lorenzo] hasꦕ their own data. You can't see the other team's data," confirmed Yamaha team directo💖r Masahiko Nakajima. "Only Yamaha engineers can see all the data and then feed it back to both riders."

Rossi's leg-breaking accident at Mugello ended his 2010 championship challenge early, while Lorenzo went on to take the✤ first of his three MotoGP titles. The Yamaha data-shari꧙ng ban then disappeared when The Doctor left for Ducati at the end of the season.

After returning to Yamaha, Rossi and Lorenzo fought directly for the title again in 2015, when Lorenzo suggested sharing data was now helping Rossi more than him, although accepted al▨l M1 riders ultimately benefitted.

Fast forward to 2023 and MotoGP now has another title fight involving rid𝓀ers on the same bikes - albeit not actual team-mates - in the form of factory Ducati’s Franceꦉsco Bagnaia and Pramac’s Jorge Martin.

Ducati's open data policy between its eight riders is seen as an overall strength, with each having the chance to learn from the others. But as the title fight nears ♛its climax, Martin admits he would prefer not to share.

“I th𝐆ink Ducati’s strategy is really good because other riders can aᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚrrive at a really good level," he said.

"But from my side, I think that, yeah, I would prefer not to s🌺ee data so the others cannot s🌱ee my data.

“Because for sure, sometimes it helps ♈me a little𒁃 bit, but it’s maybe 10%. The rest I do on my own.

"So Iꦕ feel like I arrive so fast to the limit and then the others are catching up.

“But it's fair and when we signed with Ducati we already k𓆉new [about this o🅺pen data policy], so it is what it is.”

Reignꦏing champion Bagnaia goes into the final two rounds with a 14-point lead over Martin, but it was fellow Ducati riders Alex Marquez (Sprint) and Enea Bastianini (GP) who took the race victories last time out at Sepang.