Jorge Lorenzo is now retired and a seasoned observer of MotoGP that his five world Grand Prix titles make more than legitimate. Formerly of Yamaha as formerly of Ducati, he was, this year, inevitably in one of the winner's camps at the final whistle of this epic 2022 season. The balance tipped towards Ducati and he hastened to point out that there was a bit of him in this GP22, which he indirectly contributed to developing by leaving his notes in Borgo Panigale on the development of a Desmosedici. This time, he speaks about the future all-Italian duo who will lead the red boat in 2023, with his experience in the official box of Borgo Panigale which he shared with Andrea Dovizioso…
For two seasons, Jorge Lorenzo is World Champion by proxy. In 2021, he welcomed a fabio quartararo who had just won his title, recalling that before him, no one had achieved this much with the Yamaha . And that the Frenchman had a style very close to his own, at the time. In 2022, he joined the party Ducati by pointing out that during its red period, he had given solutions to make the Desmosedici more versatile.
And for 2023? The question that already arises is that of the future cohabitation between the World Champion Pecco Bagnaia and the one who finished third in the same championship Enea Bastianini. And Jorge Lorenzo can also enlighten us here since he has experienced the management Ducati of this type of situation with Andrea Dovizioso...
Public chat motorcyclesport.net, we can read from him his idea that the management of the duo Bagnaia/Bastianini will be more complicated than that which was in progress until then with Jack Miller, given that the latter still had some shortcomings: “ it won't be as simple as with Miller. Jack is a fast driver, but he didn't have the consistency and he didn't have the last tenths. Maybe he didn't have as much brilliance as Pecco, Jorge Martín, Fabio Quartararo and Bastianini ».
Ducati responds to Jorge Lorenzo: “we need respect, not friendship"
The Australian being thus dressed for winter, Jorge Lorenzo evaluates the new duo. According to him, despite their different driving styles, the two Italians will be able to form a high-quality duo... But there will be a sine qua non condition to respect: “ Enea and Pecco have different styles, but if Ducati manages to manage their rivalry, they will form a very strong duo ».
At Ducati, we have the elements of language on this question which we knew, at Borgo Panigale, that it would instantly become unavoidable as soon as the contract of bastianini was signed. Paolo ciabatti, the sports director comments on GP One by first defining this general principle: “ we need respect, not friendship ».
Then he elaborates: “ For each driver, the main opponent is, as always, the teammate. In this case we will have the two most successful drivers of 2022 in the team and I think Ducati is the strongest team. Ducati has always tried to have two top riders as in the case of Dovizioso with Lorenzo. We always wanted to have two number 1 drivers and then understand what the evolution would be during the season. So I believe that this situation arouses desires from other teams ". And he concludes: “ Bagnaia and Bastianini will not be a problem and our competitors will envy us ».
