On Saturday at the Spanish Grand Prix, Lorenzo was inducted into MotoGP’s hall of fame in a ceremony at Jerez.
Lorenzo won 47 races in a premier class career that spanned from 2008 to 2019, with the Spaniard winning the world championship three times with Yamaha and scoring victories for both the Japanese marque and Ducati in his time.
Marquez and Lorenzo battled together numerous times across their career, with the pair becoming team-mates in 2019 at Honda before the latter elected to retire at the end of an injury-plagued final year.
Speaking ahead of Lorenzo’s induction into the MotoGP hall of fame, Marquez said Lorenzo was “one of those special guys” on the grid.
“I mean, you can be a great rider, and you can be a champion,” Marquez began.
“And he was one of those special guys out there with a strong personality. You can agree or disagree, but he had his personality and he was really strong there.
“Of course when he was in his sweet moment he was nearly unbeatable and was riding in an incredible way.
“So, I have a big respect for him because I learned many things fighting against Jorge.
“Of course, when he was my team-mate it was another atmosphere, another mentality.
“But, it’s impossible to make a ranking. I don’t like it because each rider has his period and each rider has his years.
“And when Lorenzo was riding well, he was riding very, very fast and very constant with a strong personality. That is what makes the difference.”
Lorenzo joins several of his old foes in the MotoGP hall of fame, such as Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, as well as past greats such as Mick Doohan, Kenny Roberts and Giacomo Agostini.
Last weekend, Lorenzo made his debut in the Porsche Supercup at Imola on the Formula 1 support bill and finished 30th as he gets set to embark on a full-time campaign in Porsche Carrera Cup Italy.
Lorenzo will also take on some part-time MotoGP punditry for Spanish television this year.
