Jorge Lorenzo in statements to the Podcast “The Wild Project” talked about his biggest rivalries while racing in the MotoGP World Championship.
One of the biggest rivalries was with Dani Pedrosa, and the former rider and world champion talked about his rivalry and compared it to the one he had with Valentino Rossi.
– I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone, I don’t hate anyone. But more than Rossi, more than Márquez, because when you are 17 years old, you experience everything much more intensely and, in fact, the press also fueled that rivalry because it was in their interest. Coaches Dani Amatriaín and Alberto Puig have been at odds since the days they raced motorcycles, so it was a four-way thing. Did you know that in 2008, in Jerez, he won the race, I finished third, and that enmity was so popular that the King of Spain found out and shook our hands? That famous image didn’t help because then we went after each other.
He also added a funny moment with Dani Pedrosa backstage: ‘In the press room, when we do the pole position, there is a kind of press room where you talk to journalists, right in front of the Dorna camera because there are no journalists there. I had just finished speaking and tried to shake Pedrosa’s hand and he rejected it. Colin Edwards was looking and saying, “What’s wrong with this guy for not shaking your hand?” It was said that he didn’t shake my hand and they were talking more about that than the race, so I think that’s why it reached the King’s ears.’
