Talking about Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa is, in addition to talking about two of the best drivers of all time, synonymous with one of the strongest rivalries in history. And precisely for that reason, when the Spaniard launched the proposal to the former Repsol Honda driver to fight in a boxing ring, expectations increased by a thousand before the so-called ‘Evening of the year’. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The truth is that despite the fact that all this time since the announcement there has been speculation about the possibility of both getting into a ring to resolve their pending issues, finally the fight has ended up being what many suspected, a dialectical ‘fight’ between both champions that wonderfully summed up almost a decade of rivalry and the bad vibes between the two pilots. Something they had never faced face to face.
Straight for the jugular, like a good start to combat, Lorenzo began the particular conversation with a question that, without a doubt, summed up their relationship wonderfully. “At some point did you come to hate me?“, Lorenzo launched. “Of course, don’t hesitate. We have known each other since we were 14 or 15 years old, since then there has been a very strong rivalry, it has been growing. There were times when my direct rival and my direct motivation was you. I came to hate you at times,” Pedrosa confessed.
Although the questions increased to a more personal level where the Catalan came to talk about his frustrated dream, a title in MotoGP, from which he has learned a lesson. Or the end of his relationship with Alberto Puig, who was his manager and the man who helped him get to the World Cup. “There are many details in a separation like this. The main reason is that relationships evolve towards a place, and I had to make personal growth. He led me to learn many things, but from there I had to follow a different path,” he acknowledged.
A moment that coincided with the end of his relationship with Repsol Honda and the arrival of Puig as team manager of the golden wing brand. “Was it Puig’s revenge for not renewing you at Honda?“, Lorenzo said. “I can’t put my hand in the fire on something I don’t know. No matter what it was like, everyone has their own path and everyone does what they have to do in life. If that was part of what he had to learn, welcome,” responded the three-time world champion.
A very personal Jorge Lorenzo
The Catalan also had his turn to act as a “journalist” and did not hesitate to ask one of the most personal and direct questions towards the five-time world champion. “Why are you so cool?” Pedrosa asked. “Because I have always disguised my shyness with cockiness, and because I have always liked this type of characters, arrogant or very self-confident. There, Cantona, Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo… I prefer this to the opposite,” summed up a more personal Lorenzo than ever.
The truth is that the Mallorcan has always been one of the most popular drivers of all time. His character added to some of the strongest rivalries that he has maintained with drivers like Pedrosa himself or Valentino Rossi crossed barriers. “A lot of times,” Lorenzo acknowledged whento Dani’s question about whether he was ever close to punching a rival. “But she couldn’t. Dorna would have taken me out of the World Cup. If she had it up to me, she would have done it,” she added. And about his most tense years he admits: “it encouraged you not to be liked.”
After their respective retirements, both have remained very close to the world championship, both as commentators for Dazn and in the case of Dani Pedrosa also as a KTM tester with whom he achieved his last podium in the last sprint of the Spanish Grand Prix where he raced as a wild card. . Which shows that his generation was unique. “In our prime would we beat today’s generation?“asked Lorenzo. “Honestly, yes. I can’t go on for too long. But that’s what I believe,” Pedrosa acknowledged.
Although it seems that this in-depth interview is only the first part of a fight that promises to continue. With both carrying out the long-awaited boxing fight?
