Lorenzo interview - "I love F1, I see myself in Alonso"

Last weekend you were in Abu Dhabi for the last F1 race. If you were to make a comparison with MotoGP, who would Rosberg, Hamilton, Verstappen and Vettel be?

“It’s hard to say. Hamilton could be Marquez, fast and explosive. Given the young age, I could compare Viñales to Verstappen. I think I am most similar to Alonso, both cold and determined. We do not make many mistakes. Valentino, on the other hand, could have been Schumacher.”

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Not even he would have expected news like this. A shock. This is how Rossi defined the news of Rosberg’s decision to retire from F1. The Doctor heard about it just before the Monza Rally start. At the Brianza event, the nine-time world champion is leading the race, exploiting a penalty inflicted on Dani Sordo during the second special. Only tomorrow will the competition really heat up.

The news of the day is Rosberg’s retirement.

“It was a shock, partly because I speak with Nico often, especially when he wins races. I think that it is a decision that must be respected because it is a strictly personal choice.”


The reason is the stress. You also had the same problem after 2015.

“Last year was very stressful, but so was the previous season. It takes passion and fun to keep going.”


In the past, you have admitted that you would have liked to retire as an undefeated rider.

“I had said that many years ago. To be honest, I wouldn’t know. A lot of time has passed and I have not had another chance to think about it. I would like to have a problem like that” (he jokes).


There is a spot open with Mercedes now.

“I’ll go to race, although I’m afraid I’m not good enough.”


What will Hamilton think of this news concerning Nico’s farewell?

“I don’t think he is happy about it. There has always been a big rivalry between them. I think he is disappointed.”


In Andorra, Lorenzo opened his new museum where one of your sets of leathers is also on display. He said that you remind him of Schumacher.

“I thank Jorge for these words. Michael won a lot of races. We made a trade for the leathers two years ago at Mugello when we still got along well together. Maybe I'll go see the museum one day.”


Locatelli is here on the track at Monza as well.

“That’s true. I saw him on the track yesterday and he was fast. It’s nice that bikers like rallies more and more.”


You are leading the competition.

“It is just the beginning but I am quite satisfied. The first two specials were demanding, but I was able to stay close to Sordo. Tomorrow the race will really get heated up and the Grand Prix of more than 30 km will decide the competition.”


Cairoli needs to catch up.

“Every year Tony gets even faster. Speaking sportingly, I am happy about his errors (he jokes), maybe he needs a bit more time to adapt to the car, but in any case, he is fast.”

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MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has claimed a record-tying fifth victory in the Monza Rally Show event, seeing off closest rivals Dani Sordo and Marco Bonanomi.

Rossi took the lead from Sordo in the second of the event's 10 stages, when the WRC frontrunner picked up a penalty for hitting a cone.

From that point on, the Italian controlled the event, finishing 18.4s clear of Sordo – who saw off GT ace Bonanomi by half a second for the runner-up spot.

Alessandro Bosca took fourth, while Roberto Brivio – co-driven by his brother and Suzuki MotoGP team boss Davide – was fifth.

The 2016 event win takes Rossi and co-driver Carlo Cassina level with retired Le Mans 24 Hours star Rinaldo Capello, who likewise has five wins in the event.

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by Aaron Rowles

Jorge Lorenzo beleives that the tension between himself and Valentino Rossi will decrease with the Spaniard moving to Ducati for 2017.

The duo clashed on multiple occasions over two spells as team-mates between 2008-2010 and 2012-2016, with the most intense moments coming at the end of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship that saw Lorenzo win his third MotoGP World Championship. The ongoing fued between the two continued throughout 2016, most notibly when the pair got involved in a heated conversation after September’s Misano Grand Prix, where Lorenzo accused Rossi of lacking respect towards other riders.

Despite Lorenzo and Rossi never seeing eye-to-eye through 2016, the Italian did reveal last week, that the pair shared a warm embrace in the Yamaha pit after the season finale in Valencia last month.

The two look to put their pasts behind them with Lorenzo moving to the Factory Ducati team for 2017. Rossi made the same move in 2011 after their first stint as team-mates, before returning to Yamaha after two very unsuccessful years with the Bologna factory in which he only claimed three podiums and failed to win a race.

The Spaniard said that tension between team-mates is to be expected when you have two top riders who are constantly fighting for the same goal every weekend.

“To have two roosters in the hen-house, keeping in mind that one of the goals is to do everything possible to beat the rider with the same bike as you, creates tension,” the five-time World Champion told Motorsport.com.

“It’s normal, be it with Valentino or with anyone else. When you race for another team the tension is much lower. It was the same when he left for Ducati. Back then, our relationship improved a lot competed to the previous two years. It will probably be the same now I’ve made the switch.”

Lorenzo will be hoping he can build a relationship not too dissimilar to the one he now has with Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo had previously had a rivalry with Dani Pedrosa throughout their 250cc days, although the Spaniard’s moved on from their issues when the duo both made the move into MotoGP.

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