Lorenzo 'sorry' for Rossi rostrum gesture

Jorge Lorenzo refused to answer questions relating to the Rossi/Marquez controversy at Sepang as the Movistar Yamaha rider said he was focused only on this weekend's final MotoGP World Championship round at Valencia in Spain.

Lorenzo, team-mate Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez revealed they had been requested by Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta to talk only about the upcoming race weekend and largely resisted questions associated with the previous round.

However, Lorenzo - who trails Rossi by seven points ahead of the final race - did apologise for his thumbs down gesture, which he made on the rostrum in Malaysia as Rossi received his trophy for finishing third.

Lorenzo also said he respected the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after Rossi's appeal to have the three Penalty Points he received following the incident at Sepang suspended until after the Valencia MotoGP was rejected.

"I will have to respect the decision [of CAS] that they decide; to be honest I arrived here just thinking about the weekend, which is very important for me. I want to not speak about anything else apart from what can happen in the future on the track," said Lorenzo.

"I respect the decision, look forward for tomorrow and about the past I just want to say it was a mistake the gesture I made on the podium; I regret that and I want to say sorry for that and especially to the people who watch this on the television.

"It is not a sporting symbol, especially for the young people who are watching MotoGP around the world, so sorry for the gesture. Apart from this, I don't have anything else to say. [I want to] just concentrate on the weekend."

Asked if his opinion had changed on the clash between Rossi and Marquez, with Lorenzo stating in Malaysia that he had 'lost respect' for the Doctor, he added: "What I said in Sepang, I said in Sepang. Now we are in Valencia and I just want to speak about tomorrow, Saturday and about the race out of respect for the championship. I will speak maybe on Monday, but I want to speak about what happens now in the future on the race track.

"I am happy to race this year, happy to race for Yamaha and happy to fight for the championship. I have a possibility to win it and I'm a lucky person, a lucky guy and every day I feel I'm lucky. I have an opportunity to demonstrate my potential and to enjoy life, which is short but nice at the same time."

Lorenzo says his approach to Sunday's race has been unaffected by the CAS decision, which will see Rossi start from the back of the grid.

"It doesn't matter the decision that they make today [CAS], the sanction is the same. If they changed the sanction, I would race completely the same on Sunday, so this will not change my way of riding, my way of thinking about the race," he said.

"I always try to get the maximum from me, from the bike and it's what I'm going to do on Sunday: try to make the best race of my career."

The 28-year-old also reiterated his desire to remain at Yamaha 'until I retire' as he made it clear his intention to continue with the manufacturer has been unaltered.

"I have one more year, my intention is to continue Yamaha forever; I always say that I want to keep in Yamaha until I retire and this is keeping in my mind," Lorenzo said.

"Naturally there are some moments of disagreement and during these days can happen different things, but our relationship in the future will be the same.

"I think Valentino and myself, like I always say, we form one of the best teams in the world, so my idea has been the same."

Following Thursday's meeting with the Permanent Bureau, Lorenzo said he understood what is expected of him as a MotoGP rider and described the meeting in a positive light.

"When you speak with the people and somebody give you another idea it can be better, it can be good. I always try to respect the other riders and be as sporting as possible," he said.

"When I make a mistake I try to say sorry, I think this is very important. I hope everyone, including myself, will try to do the same on Sunday.

"The riders in general will try to be at our best, but sometimes it can happen similar as in Sepang, so it is important if you make a mistake to recognise it. If not, the people who are in charge of making decisions will act like they did."

Continuing in his vein of refusing to answer questions not relating to this weekend's final race, Lorenzo declined to reveal why he did not inform Yamaha of his request to participate in Rossi's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"I will not speak about this. I tell you before, so I don't understand why you ask again things outside the track," he said.

Similarly, Lorenzo wouldn't be drawn on Yamaha's decision to cancel its championship party this weekend at Valencia, saying: "I don't know; it's a thing that happens outside the track so I don't respond. I hope you respect my decision."