Jorge Lorenzo: Ducati “didn’t even offer me €1m when contracts were worth €12m”

Jorge Lorenzo has offered an insight into his contract dealings at Ducati - and denied claims over his huge salary.

Lorenzo, and previously Valentino Rossi, were big-name MotoGP champions who Ducati banked on to end a long win-less run.

But infamously both bets failed to pay off, and Lorenzo has detailed how he exited Ducati after two drab seasons.

“Ducati lost patience after a year and a half without results,” he was quoted by AS.

“They didn't trust me anymore. They didn't offer me even a million euros when the contracts at that time were for 12.

“They preferred a rider like Danilo Petrucci.

“I didn't even have an offer.”

With his future on the line, Lorenzo swiftly signed for Honda in 2019 instead.

But it proved to be his worst year in MotoGP and Lorenzo called it quits after one season on a Honda.

Lorenzo denies Ducati big-money deal

Lorenzo was never able to replicate his glory days at Yamaha, where he won two MotoGP championships.

After finishing third in 2017 amid a heated rivalry with teammate Rossi, Lorenzo opted to exit Yamaha.

“I didn't have much desire,” he said.

“They pushed harder, and it was very noticeable in Valencia, more for Valentino than for me.”

Lorenzo’s choice to sign for Ducati was due to Gigi Dall’Igna.

Although Lorenzo arrived too early for Dall’Igna’s Desmosedici project to take off, the manufacturer would find success years later.

“I knew that Gigi was going to make the Ducati the best motorcycle, because he is very stubborn,” Lorenzo said.

“It was a bit like when Lewis Hamilton left McLaren to go to Mercedes. A team that had not won anything, but knew it would be the best car in Formula 1.

“I had the same intuition with Ducati.”

Lorenzo denied that his first Ducati contract was as astronomical as it has sometimes been reported as.

“In reality, it was 15% more than what I earned at Yamaha,” he claimed.

“The change was not for money, no matter how much some think it was.

“That 15% didn't change my life. It was more about motivation.

“At Ducati things didn't work out for me.”

Four years after Lorenzo’s exit, Ducati ended their 15-season run without a MotoGP title which stretched back to Casey Stoner in 2007.

Pecco Bagnaia delivered the title to the Italian manufacturer and the Ducati remains MotoGP’s best bike two years later.