Jorge Lorenzo’s first words on the success of Valentino Rossi’s Mooney VR46
Valentino Rossi, the ex-teammate and enemy of Lorenzo’s, was in Jerez to oversee the team which bears his name that has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the early rounds.
And Lorenzo and Rossi posted a picture of themselves embracing when they bumped into each other in the paddock, a sign their once raging rivalry has finally thawed.
Lorenzo said about Rossi’s team: “Ducati have done a really good job over the past five to seven years, progressing the bike so much.
“They have made the best bike on the grid.
“Having a lot of bikes, a lot of teams, very young and talented riders, they have eight riders who can make podiums or race wins.
“This is very hard for the other factories to fight with.
“Nobody expected Marco Bezzecchi to lead the championship, and Luca Marini is not so far away.
“VR46 is a really strong team with a bike that is almost the same as the factory team.
“So Valentino must be really happy!”
Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia became the first VR46 Academy graduate to win the MotoGP championship last season.
This year in Argentina, Bezzecchi claimed a milestone first grand prix win for himself and for the Mooney VR46 team.
Marini finished on the podium for the first time at COTA - eerily, Rossi’s penultimate MotoGP finish was also a second-place at COTA behind Alex Rins.
Lorenzo was in attendance at the Spanish MotoGP in his TV commentary role.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
