Grand Champions often find their motivation in the fierce rivalries they have with other exceptional drivers, and Jorge Lorenzo is no exception to this rule. The triple MotoGP World Champion notably faced Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez and recognizes that relations have sometimes been stormy with his enemies. According to him, these difficulties are due to the fact of sharing the same objective, and maintained by the will of the pilots to motivate themselves to the maximum.
“It is very complicated to be friends with someone who is not from your family and who wants the same thing as you”, analyzes the Spanish. “We saw it with other sportsmen, including if we watch the documentary on Michael Jordan [The Last Dance] : it is Michael himself who created imaginary enemies to motivate himself and be stronger. Personally, I recognize that I have sometimes exaggerated situations and statements made about me by other pilots in order to have more anger or motivation – or whatever you want to call it – and thus become stronger for the next race. “
Now retired after a difficult 2019 financial year, Lorenzo has been able to step back and see his former rivals in a different way: “In the world we live in, the most important thing is to win, to get the biggest share of the pie. We do everything we can to get it. When we retire, the film changes completely and you no longer have to create enemies or exaggerate the rivalry with the other pilots. This is no longer what is important. “
His relationship with Márquez was complicated when the latter triumphantly arrived in MotoGP, but the two men got to know each other, and teaming up with Honda in 2019 allowed them to definitively bury the hatchet, especially as the competition on the track was nonexistent between them. According to Lorenzo, it was also this difference in level that prevented any toxic rivalry within the team.
“Most of the time, our relationship was good, there was no problem. We got on better in 2019 than in previous years. The truth is that we learned better get to know each other and we got a little more intimate, especially at the end. He was on another level, he was fighting for another title when it was very hard for me, so we weren’t fighting for the same thing and that certainly made our cohabitation easier. But our relationship improved, we spent more time together and everything improved. “
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