Jorge Lorenzo: Rossi ‘slow, imprecise’, Miller 'good but not great'

It’s fair to say when three-time MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo speaks, people listen… in part because he isn’t known for holding back in his opinions and because he definitely doesn’t hold any prisoners.

In fact we wonder why he hasn’t wound up earning some euros as a MotoGP commentator this year, though one assumes the likes of DAZN (Spanish broadcaster) and possibly even BT Sport have no doubt approached. 

Instead, it seems Lorenzo is going it alone, which is why we’re rather intrigued by his latest endeavour - a ‘vlog’ titled “99 seconds’ in reference to his racing number.

For the record, these videos aren’t “99 seconds” - in fact at almost 19mins long for the latest one, you have to like our Jorge a lot to watch him talk newsreader style in a manner that reminds us of Alan Partridge on The Day Today (I endeavour you Google it if you don’t get the reference!). 

Amusingly, by starting the video just as the sun sets behind him, it’s quite dark by the time he finishes.

You’ll need to know Spanish, or trust Google translate to fully understand what he is saying but at the very least he is certainly thorough, saving an opinion for every rider on the grid and gives them a score out of ten. 

Naturally, some will fast forward on to what he thinks about Valentino Rossi [15:30] and while he doesn’t lay into his great rival, he does use some choice words when describing a performance that saw the Italian qualify 17th and finish right there.

A venue where Rossi scored his one and only podium in 2020, Lorenzo tempers his views by suggesting the Italian could still surprise in the races going forward, but otherwise evaluates him by saying:

“I expected a lot from him Jerez or at least an improvement in his results. They didn’t show him muchon TV and in one of the few times he was on he was imprecise, when he is normally one of the most precise. Not only is he slow, he is slow in his movements but sometimes he is also imprecise in corner entry. We’ll see if he will be able to surprise us.”

Bagnaia quicker than Miller, Marquez lost confidence

By meticulously working his way through the entire field, Lorenzo has an opinion for everyone. 

He predicted former team-mate Marc Marquez would be on the podium but ‘lost confidence’ following two high-speed crashes, adding ‘I expected a lot from him after Portimao, which made him feel like a hero… he made a small comeback but without that crash he could have done much better’.

He was also somewhat unmoved by Jack Miller’s emotional victory, his first in Ducati colours, branding his win as a ‘good race but not great’ for the Australian.

Instead, Lorenzo lavishes praise on his team-mate Bagnaia because he is riding ‘the best Ducati ever’, saying it ‘can win on any track and is a complete bike’, adding it is ‘ready for the title’.

It should also be noted that he begins the video by praising the performance of Moto3 rider Pedro Acosta, who notched up his third win in four races at Jerez with some savvy riding. Click here to find out why he is being touted as the next big thing to hit MotoGP...

After exiting MotoGP as a full-time rider at the conclusion of the 2019 season, Lorenzo spent the 2020 season as an official test rider for the Yamaha team he won his three MotoGP world titles, but completed only a handful of outings. A break in relations towards the end of the year would see him replaced by Cal Crutchlow.