"Lorenzo Yamaha tester? Maybe, with the M1 it would be strong!"

All the big boys of the premier class inevitably turned their attention to this thing. And even more so did those who shared the box with him for many years as Valentino Rossi. The "Doctor" has not hidden a bit of regret for having lost one of his historical rivals, but also an important stimulus when they were next to each other to defend the colors of the Yamaha.

"It's a great pity, because we lose a great driver, one of those really strong, but the races are like that. It's hard, you have to be motivated, but this is a job that must give you taste, otherwise it's a difficult life. They are very personal things and everyone has his natural watch, "said Rossi.

"I had a lot of good times, but also bad ones with Lorenzo. Our relationship had ups and downs. They were low in 2015, but also high when we fought in the past. He was a great teammate and always a another good motivation "he added.

Today's announcement was not a surprise for the "Doctor", because given the difficulties of the Majorcan with the Honda and injuries, which in the last few races have always relegated him to the back of the group, and the looming shadow of Johann Zarco, it was not difficult to do 2 + 2.

"It didn't surprise me that much, simply because Yamaha had asked Zarco if he wanted to be a test driver and he replied that he had a chance with Honda. Making 2 + 2 I thought that Jorge would have struggled to get on with these results and that Honda had already thought of a replacement for its change ".

In recent days, Yamaha gave up Jonas Folger as a test driver, announcing that he would continue using only Japanese testers. Here, Valentino was amazed, because he said that trying to offer Jorge the role of a tester could be a big blow for Iwata's House.

"Maybe! I have to tell the truth, in my opinion Lorenzo if he goes up on the M1 he goes strong, so we would need a lot as a tester. (laughs). But I would love to have Lorenzo as a test rider, because he is a very fast rider and could help us out. "

Finally, he explained why he was not among the many colleagues who had attended Lorenzo's announcement of the withdrawal: "I heard about this 15-day press conference, but I had things to do. Then I saw on TV that the other pilots there were almost all of them. I don't know if there was an invitation or something, but I didn't know anything. It's for what I wasn't there. Anyway I'll have a chance to see Jorge and greet him properly. "

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