Spanish MotoGP stars talk pressure, friendship

MotoGP News
Date: 31/May/2012

Spanish MotoGP stars Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa gave a hint of the pressure they are already under in the 2012 title battle on the eve of their second home race of the season, at Barcelona.

Lorenzo, reigning champion Casey Stoner and his Honda team-mate Pedrosa will start this weekend’s Catalan round covered by 25 points after dominating the opening four events.

The trio have finished on the podium at every race, with the exception of a fourth for Pedrosa at the previous wet French GP. It thus looks increasingly likely that the rider who makes the fewest errors will prevail. 

Yamaha’s Lorenzo, who currently holds an eight-point lead over Stoner at the top of the championship, explained:

“It’s been very tough this season with a lot of competition, especially in the front group with Casey and Dani. The races have been at a very high pace and are physically demanding.

“You can’t stop concentrating, you have to be at the limit all the time, and of course not crash. To do this is always difficult, but I’m a little bit older and more experienced than the previous years.”

Third in the points Pedrosa, who will be chasing his first win of the year this weekend, agreed.

“As Jorge says, it’s very important to keep your focus and keep the pace up. There is no chance to make a mistake or go slower. You must be on the limit all the time and ride well, or you could lose a lot of points.”

On a lighter note, Lorenzo and Pedrosa were also asked about how their relationship has transformed from bitter enemies to friendly rivals.

Lorenzo joked: “In 2003 we were enemies, in 2005 more, and then in 2008 even more. Now we hug [after the Qatar race]. Maybe in two or three years we can get married!”

Once the press room laughter had died down, Pedrosa added: “Before we were kids and possessed about winning. You get more mature and become more aware of other things. That probably made the change.

“We have better relations now. It’s great. But we still race against each other like before.”

The King of Spain famously forced Lorenzo and Pedrosa to shake hands on the podium at Jerez in 2008.