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MotoGP,  Lorenzo: "In 2008 I was the alternative to Rossi for Yamaha. Now it’s Quartararo"

"I talked to Aprilia, but things didn't go through, I could be a manager or a TV commentator. Dovizioso and Dall'Igna? There are always two versions of every story"

MotoGP:  Lorenzo: "In 2008 I was the alternative to Rossi for Yamaha. Now it’s Quartararo"

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Jorge Lorenzo will be the big absentee of MotoGP in this 2021 season. The Majorcan seemed to be on the verge of getting back on the bike after a season as a test rider with Yamaha, which he actually spent with very few tests. However, the road that would have brought him back to Ducati did not materialize and not even the one that seemed to point him in the direction of Noale to try and make the Aprilia project finally blossom saw the light.

It wasn’t such a bad thing however for Jorge, who at the beginning of 2021 took a long vacation in Dubai in the company of friends including Max Biaggi, having fun and enjoying the golden retirement of a five-time world champion in motorcycling. The Spaniard spoke to the microphones of our Sky Sport TV colleagues, talking about his present, the past and the numerous paths that he is currently considering to take for his future.

"I am very well, I took a long vacation in Dubai - explained Lorenzo - I wanted to stay there for 20 days, but I stayed longer. I was not alone and even the friends I went with moved their return date. We had a good time, it was hot and we did a lot of fun things. I only got back to Lugano a few days ago and I got back to work on my things ".

The future is obviously the first topic addressed by Lorenzo who does not seem in the least bothered by the fact that he has not found any accord to be present in MotoGP in 2021 even as a test rider.

"For the moment, as you know, I have broken off my relationship as a test rider with Yamaha. There has been some talk about the possibility of me going to Aprilia and in fact there have been contacts because I am a good friend of Massimo Rivola. We have known each other since he was in Ferrari, we saw each other often when I was a guest at the Grands Prix. We sat down to talk about it, but things didn't go through. They chose to stay with the riders they have. For now, there is no path to continue as test rider, but honestly if I don't do it it's not something I will lose sleep about. Now I have many projects in mind for my future, which will be even more relaxed and with less stress than being a MotoGP rider, but they are things in any case, exciting for me and above all they represent something new for me, things that I did not have the time to do before. Something else that I am keeping open is that of being a commentator for some TV stations, it is a possibility. I don’t rule out either giving my experience to some young riders, maybe even become the manager of some young riders for the future ".

Lorenzo: "I've always been sensitive as a rider, in Yamaha we developed the M1 for everyone"

Last season both Quartararo and Vinales talked about the M1, describing the 2016 version as probably the best ever and also the last one developed by Jorge, who had this to say on the matter.

"I think I've always been a very sensitive rider, able to immediately understand which new things on the bike were good and which weren’t. It was always a characteristic of mine as a child. My father made me ride many different bikes and I knew how to adapt and understand immediately. I have always had this ability and Yamaha relied on me for development until 2016 and we made an excellent evolution of the bike. Always following the path of making a bike that is easy for the rider, intuitive and one that could be ridden well by everyone".

An approach that the Majorcan then also kept in Ducati…

"Also in Ducati I did a job of this kind, but from the outside I can't know if today's bikes are superior or inferior to those of 2016. Theoretically they are better, because four years have passed and they have developed the bike. If we think about the bikes on the grid, in my opinion Yamaha does not have the most complete bike as it did in the years I was racing with them. "

Lorenzo also commented on Yamaha's decision to move Valentino Rossi to Team Petronas.

"I was surprised that Yamaha decided to move him to Petronas, I didn't expect it. I didn't imagine it would happen, but I think in the end it won't change much for Valentino. Quartararo and Morbidelli have shown that you can also win with a bike theoretically inferior to that of the factory riders, and therefore in my opinion it will be the same for Valentino. I don't think he will have any problems, but from a media point of view it is surprising news. But in the end Yamaha, like all companies, must look to the future. I remember that when I started with Yamaha in 2008, they had to look for an alternative path. Valentino could have stopped or decided to go to F1 at the time and Yamaha had to look to the future. That's why they made me sign as I was young and now that Valentino is 41 years old, it is normal for Yamaha to think about the future which necessarily passes through younger riders, such as Quartararo. A logical but surprising decision ".

Lorenzo: "Dovizioso and Dall'Igna? There are always two sides to each story"

 

In recent days there has also been a certain controversy between Dovizioso and Dall'Igna. Lorenzo also had something to say on the matter.

"When a relationship breaks down, it is normal for the two parties to have friction and each thinks it was the other who made a mistake. There are always two sides to each story and Andrea defends his point of view, his pride and his image and I believe that Ducati and Dall’Igna do the same. In the end, I think it was a successful marriage for both of them. Andrea finished second in the championship three times, Ducati was back fighting for the championships after several years in which it didn't, so I think they can both be happy. But for sure there were some internal frictions that we cannot understand from the outside and that led to the end of this relationship ".

 

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