“Brutal” 2015 hasn't tainted Jorge Lorenzo’s respect for Valentino Rossi
“We would both have won more without the other…”
Jorge Lorenzo says his final MotoGP title-winning year in 201🏅5 was “brutal” due to the controversy centring on🍒 Valentino Rossi, but now has “the utmost respect” for the legend.
Lorenzo and Ro🐻ssi enjoyed a fractiou♛s relationship as team-mates at Yamaha between 2008 and 2010, and then again from 2013 to 2016.
Their rivalry perhaps reached boiling point📖 in 2015, when Lorenzo won the championship amid accusations from Rossi that Marc Marquez was conspiring to deny the Italian that year’s world title.
It is a claim that Rossi upholds to this day.
Lorenzo’s third MotoGP title coming in the Valencia finale in 2015 was met with backlash from Rossi fans and a muted response from his Yamaha tea🉐m, with the Spaniard ultimately signing to race for Ducati for 2017.
Speꦬaking at the Festival dello Sport in Italy last week, Lorenzo touched on his final world title and his rivalry with Rossi.
“Evidently, everyone had believed Valentino's version,” Loren👍zo said about what happ💧ened that season.
“2015 was a brutal year: everything happened. You have to think about the fact that I had never been solo lea꧑der until the last race.”
Lorenzo briefly led the championship after the Czech GP that year, but was꧂ level on points wi🌸th Rossi.
Nine-time world champion Rossi sat atop the standings until the Valencia finale, though Lorenzo ultimately ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚwon more grands prix ๊than his team-mate with 7-4.
“We would both have won mor💧e without the other,” he adds🙈 of their time racing together.
“But, thanks to our rivalry, we were much faster.
“Today, [I have the] utmost respect for him.
“We have all benefited from his charisma, bec﷽ause it has allowed many people to get closer to world motorcycling, giving visibility to the championship.”
Lorenzo’s relationship with Rossi not affected by Biaggi friendship
Rossi had rivalries with a number of high-profi🦋le riders across his career, with his first big one in the premier class coming against Max Biaggi.
Biaggi was Lorenzo’s hero growing up and became friends with th﷽e Italian, though doesn’t believe his relationship with Rossi was impacted in anyway by this.
“Max Biaggi was my idol,” Lorenzo said.
💯“The first time I met him we ⛦talked about many things, including Valentino Rossi.
“I immediately told him that h꧑e was my favourite. I don't think that 🍬my friendship with Max conditioned my relationship with Rossi.
“Surely, what was more important was the speed he put on the track🐷.”
