The first confrontation between the two former teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi was won by the Yamaha rider. The Mallorcan's racing debut on the Ducati was not great, but many are willing to bet on the Mallorcan's rise in power over time, such as Charles Pernat.
In an interview given to the Italian site GQ, Jorge Lorenzo recalls the reasons for this choice to try to succeed where Rossi failed: “I had already received an offer from Ducati ten years ago, but I didn't feel ready to take the risk. Having now won five world championships, I have full confidence in myself. I have no shortage of talent or dedication to work with engineers for up to 13 hours a day.”
To work in close collaboration with Jorge Lorenzo, there are Michele Pirro and Cristian Gabarrini, in addition to the technicians and engineers from the Borgo Panigale factory, but number 99 regrets that Casey Stoner is only present episodically on the races: “No one better than him can give me advice on riding technique, because he is the only one to have won a World Championship with this bike, and it is still a phenomenon, once in the saddle. It's a shame not to have been able to convince him to follow me on all the stages of the circuit. But on the other hand, I have the support of his team leader, Cristian Gabarrini.”
Furthermore, answering the same sort of question as the one asked to Marc Marquez regarding the most complete current driver, Jorge Lorenzo explains: “no one, each of the top drivers has unique qualities. The perfect driver should have the aggressiveness of Marc Márquez, theRossi's improvisation, Viñales' resourcefulness, the own style of Dani Pedrosa and the constancy of Dovi. Me? I stay out.”
