Former MotoGP star Jorge Lorenzo believes Marc Marquez now displays more respect towards rivals while battling with them on track, having initially found his antics to be “very aggressive”.
Lorenzo was one of Marquez’s main rivals during his golden period in the 2010s, with the pair even becoming team-mates at Honda in the former’s final season in 2019.
Their careers have taken different turns since then, with Lorenzo going on to become a commentator for Spanish broadcaster DAZN and Marquez joining the Gresini Ducati team in 2024 after being saddled with injuries and an uncompetitive bike in his final years at Honda.
Lorenzo conceded that he wasn’t a fan of Marquez’s style of racing when the latter graduated to the premier class in 2013 as the reigning Moto2 champion, but feels his countryman has changed the way he rides against other riders over the years.
“In 2013, I didn't accept his [Marc's] way of racing, which was very aggressive,” the three-time champion said at Festival dello Sport in Italy. “Now he has a bit more 'respect' towards his rivals. It must be said that the rules are stricter than 10 years ago.”
Marquez won six titles in his first seven years in MotoGP, with Lorenzo - then at Yamaha - the only rider to break his run when he triumphed in the controversial 2015 season.
Things started going downhill for Marquez after Lorenzo retired from MotoGP, with a horrific crash at the 2020 season opener in Jerez leaving him with career-altering injuries.
It took multiple surgeries and prolonged layoff periods to put the accident behind, but by the time he was close to full fitness the Honda RC213V had slumped to become the slowest bike on the grid.
Lorenzo believes Marquez would have been able to win several additional titles had his arm not been broken at Jerez four years ago.
“He is a beast on a sporting level,” he said of the 31-year-old. “Since 2020, he has had very bad luck in terms of his physical condition. Without those problems, he would have won at least two or three more world championships.”
Marquez’s struggles at Honda prompted him to leave the Japanese manufacturer with a year left on his contract and join Gresini at the start of the 2024 season.
He will move up to the factory Ducati team next year, partnering Francesco Bagnaia, and will be in a position to challenge for the championship for the first time since 2019.
Lorenzo himself spent two seasons with Ducati in 2017-18 as part of a multi-million deal with the aim of leading the Borgo Panigale marque to its first title since 2007.
Although the Spaniard did hit his stride in his second season after a slow adaptation, the partnership ultimately ended with just three wins.
He ended up moving to Honda for what turned out to be his final year in the premier class, while Ducati slowly turned the Desmosedici into a dominant bike.
Hailing Ducati’s general manager Gigi Dall’Igna, Lorenzo said he would have been able to achieve the target set out by Ducati had he stayed with the team for a few more seasons.
“We met in 2004, in my last year in 125cc. Fate brought us together at Ducati,” he said of Dall’Igna. “I was very sorry not to have won a title with the Italian brand. I am convinced that, if I had stayed two more years, we would have won it.
“Now it is the best bike. It has no weak points.”
