Jorge Lorenzo has changed his life, but less than when he announced his retirement during the last Valencia Grand Prix. Because he returned to MotoGP through a retraining at Yamaha as a test rider. A position that allows him to have the best of both worlds. That of a free man who can express himself as he wishes and live as he wishes. And that of a pilot riding one of the most efficient motorcycles on Earth to enjoy it without pressure. A serenity which is felt in his recent declarations of disarming frankness...
Jorge Lorenzo often displays argued points of view which always seem, at first glance, offbeat. A singularity which is exacerbated since he now has more free time. After the Sepang tests who saw him reconcile with a Yamaha , he developed the subject of his semi-return to the MotoGP scene…
« The feeling is still very familiar » he explains on his return to the M1. “ It's not that they mistreated me at Ducati and Honda. It's the opposite because they gave me the best, but I suffered there and life is about enjoying, not suffering. With Yamaha there is a different feeling, and the bike is also very familiar, especially for my riding style. »
« It's very difficult to be friends with a direct competitor, especially when we are all killers in MotoGP. Marc is a killer, Valentino is a killer, I am a killer, we all want to win and we never want to give anything to others. You don't hate them, but you want them to go as slow as possible so you can still beat them. »
In this atmosphere, he takes the example of a fact that has since remained in history: “ when something as emotional as Sepang happens in 2015, the friction causes a fire and the relationship is even worse. There have been many comments since, but time is a great healer. Humans forget negative and positive feelings very quickly, and maybe over time fans started to understand me better. »
« Or maybe because I've changed as a person. Now Vale and I are closer than ever, perhaps because our common interest is to see Yamaha win. » Lorenzo says Yamaha is in a very good position this year. “ Right now, Yamaha is the only team that has three riders who can win races and fight for the championship. Honda only has Marc at the moment, Suzuki only has Rins because Mir has yet to score his first podium. Ducati may have three too, but Yamaha has a better chance of winning with all three He says.
« Right now, I'm happy with the role I have, because I can enjoy life in a way I haven't in 20 years. I have a lot of things I want to do, other projects and new things », he ends by clarifying the speculation of a return to competition: “ in life, you never know. After Valencia it was 99% no, and now it's maybe 98%. If it grew by 1% in two months, maybe it will continue to grow in the future, but for now it's no. »
