The verbal joust between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo during the press conference after the San Marino Grand Prix is not a closed affair between the two drivers. The end of the season may be long at Yamaha.
The last San Marino Grand Prix saw two events. On the one hand the meeting on the Misano track. And, on the other hand, the few minutes of a press conference after the race during which Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo frontally exchanged a few words on the overtaking maneuver of one over the other. Temporary tension between two champions exhausted by a competition that has barely ended? Apparently not, because the verbal joust is always in the minds of the protagonists.
It was Por Fuera's remark about the Doctor's style when overtaking that ignited the situation. The Spaniard bluntly declared that the Italian never bothered with precautions to conquer a position. “ I won't let Lorenzo say that I'm a driver who never overtakes properly. Because it's false » still insists the nine-time titleholder. “ Lorenzo is also aggressive when he overtakes me. And I think that this maneuver in Misano was like all the other maneuvers of this type in competition. Like the one Pedrosa did on me or Márquez did on me at Silverstone ».
Lorenzo respond : " I understand that he didn't want to let me start in front at Misano and that he wanted to cut my pace by being in front. But his overtaking was aggressive. It's my opinion and he should respect me when I express it ". A final remark which announces the opening of a new front on the part of the Majorcan. After the substance, here is the controversy over the form: “ When you reach the age of 37, you should be able to be polite when others answer a question that has been asked of them. You just need to be quiet and wait your turn to speak. It's a question of education ».
The future Ducati rider doesn’t stop there: “ he always does that, from the Thursday conference onwards. He must learn to respect others and let them express themselves. When the other drivers speak, they speak in his corner quite loudly. It wasn't his place to speak and he was the one who interrupted me when it was my turn to speak. I wanted to answer a question that had been asked to me and I wanted to give my point of view. He started laughing, which he often does when other drivers speak at the press conference ».
Assessment: according to Lorenzo, not only Red is an aggressive driver on the track but in addition he lacks education in life.
The reunion between the two pilots in Aragon looks promising. And not just on the track. Cohabitation at Yamaha was already complicated, cohabitation on the track not easy, now cohabitation at a press conference will now also be a headache.
