Lorenzo on Rossi downfall: “If you feel strong? You don’t talk about this stuff"

Yamaha teammates Lorenzo and Rossi were duelling for the title when Rossi controversially accused Marc Marquez of actively trying to assist Lorenzo.

Rossi was punished for causing Marquez to crash in Sepang and, in the final race, Rossi was behind Marquez and Dani Pedrosa and unable to claim the second-place he needed to win the MotoGP championship, adding further toxicity to the feud.

Lorenzo said on the Amazon Prime Video documentary ‘Marc Marquez: All In’: “Their relationship changed. I was watching what was happening between them and rubbing my hands. 

“A battle between them could benefit me. And that’s what happened.”

Lorenzo said about the notorious incident in Sepang between Rossi and Marquez: “I think Marquez understood that Valentino did it on purpose."

Rossi had already sat in press conferences and accused Marquez of plotting against him to prevent him from collecting another championship.

Rossi would finish second in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons and would never add another premier class title to his tally of seven.

Lorenzo recalls Rossi’s accusations and says: “When you feel strong and you know you’re going to win every race? You don’t talk about this kind of stuff.”

Marquez added: “Lorenzo is right. If you’re fast then nothing bothers you and you don’t have time for nonsense. 

“If you aren’t fast and you feel inferior, feeling like you’re going to lose, you start looking for problems.”

Marquez admits in the documentary that, during the final race of 2015, he opted not to take risks to win the race because he didn’t want Rossi to benefit by winning the championship.

Lorenzo, whose own relationship with Rossi was defined by a wall separating them in the Yamaha garage, now says: “The experience they had in Argentina and Holland - the way they battled it out, the crazy braking - made Marc not care about winning as much. He only cared about passing Valentino at every turn.”

Pedrosa added to the documentary: “Valentino is a rider that likes battling it out. I didn’t agree that he said Marc tried to help Jorge in Australia. I really don’t get it.”

This year, if Marquez can overcome his Repsol Honda bike’s problems and his two-year injury nightmare, he can equal Rossi’s total of seven MotoGP championships in the ultimate last laugh to their rivalry.