For having had the opportunity to take the handlebars of a Yamaha again, the now new test rider of the Iwata brand Jorge Lorenzo thanked his former employer Honda for not having imposed a clause on him preventing him from offering his skills elsewhere. Because between the Mallorcan and HRC, in 2019 it was the premature end of a two-year lease. Most notably, Alberto Puig was cited for this door being left open. The latter has responded since the Sepang tests by clarifying things about a situation whose development has nevertheless surprised him…
Alberto puig is not the kind of man to whom it is done. However, see a Jorge Lorenzo back on a Yamaha as a test driver after announcing his retirement during the last Grand Prix 2019, which put an end to a career and therefore to the contract with Honda which was planned until the end of 2020, surprised, to the point of wondering if the said Puig hadn't been a little fooled...
The Repsol Honda field man is therefore shown in the slot at Sepang, to give his perception of the facts… “ On Lorenzo we need to clarify one thing and understand what happened. With Jorge, we did not break the contract, which was for two years. But when a pilot comes to you and tells you that he wants to quit because he is afraid of getting hurt and he no longer finds the motivation to pilot you can only answer, OK, we'll stop. I said it several times: Lorenzo had a two-year contract, but when he explained to me that he was not comfortable with our bike, that he was struggling physically, Honda could only accept the facts. Our sport is dangerous and you cannot say to a driver, you have a contract, drive! Honda would never do such a thing. We couldn't push him to run and risk injury if he wasn't ready. »
« Honda did the right thing. We hope Jorge is happy and we wish him good luck »Adds Puig which is still a little bitter: “ Jorge has officially retired in Valencia. We were all there. Then for some reason he changed his mind and we have to respect him. At the time, however, he decided to quit. From our point of view, we did the right thing. While he was with us, we did our best, although obviously the maximum was not enough, but everyone, including me, gave everything. »
« Honda did the right thing, but if Jorge has since decided to try for Yamaha, that's his life. We did not interfere. Everyone can do what they want with their life, we are happy for him and Lorenzo has told us publicly that he is grateful. Nothing wrong, in fact, for him to be happy and find the success he didn't have last year » comments Puig.
« We were convinced that Lorenzo would really retire. I was really convinced that he really wanted to stop and that he didn't have the spirit to continue ". So there still remains a doubt: Jorge Lorenzo was he carrying out a premeditated plan to join Yamaha with his experience Honda ? Even if it were, Puig put into perspective GP One : " When a rider leaves, he doesn't take the drawings of his motorcycle with him. Of course he brings his experience and he can say how the Honda is at a certain point or how it was with Ducati, but that's it. It's not that easy to transfer this information, there is no magic formula. »
