Jorge Lorenzo: “Valentino Rossi was kind to the cameras - I could not and did not want to do that”
Teammates and rivals Lorenzo and Rossi battled on and off-track, infamously creating a wall down the centre of their garag♕e to prevent secre♚ts leaking to the other side.
Their differing personalities defined their era of MotoGP - Rossi was characterised as affable and ⛄lovable, Lorenzo as aloof a🐈nd cold.
"For better or for worse I always said w🀅hat I thought", Lorenzo said.
"I was authentic because I had t♑o go out and compete. Rossi knew how to be kind to the cameras before going out, while for me it was something I couldn't and didn't want to do.
"There are different types of riders - those who are nicer and get along well with everyone and those who are more w⭕ith the team.&n𒊎bsp;
“I didn't get along very well because I was always𒅌 working."
Lorenzo ended his career with🍷 three premier class championships, compared to Rossi’s seven. They each won two world championships with the other as their teammate.
Lorenzo said about retiring from M♕otoGP: "What I miss most is winning.
“I believe that one is born competitive because of genetics or that directly he does not li🌠ke to compete. I'm very competitive, at school I invented games with my ⛎friends to beat them.”
He hated defeat even as a child, he explained: "You have no other choice, I had to learn when I was 10 years old. Ouꦡt of 7 races I won 6, but when I didn't win and finished third I didn't even want to get on the podium."
But Lorenzo reveals how age can inhibit a rider: "At 20 in the♓ wet I won, but at 30 my head stopped my wrist and did not let me give gas because I saw the danger.”
𒀰J🅷ames was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
