Valentino Rossi once revealed his immediate two-word reaction when Yamaha signed Jorge Lorenzo in 2008

Add as preferred source on Google

Valentino Rossi was a seven-time world champion in Grand Prix motorcycle racing before Jorge Lorenzo made the move up to MotoGP with Yamaha.

The relationship between Rossi and Lorenzo was filled with ‘total tension’ according to the Spaniard. The pair spent a total of seven MotoGP seasons as teammates, across two separate periods.

They spent three seasons together at Yamaha before Rossi‘s departure to Ducati for the 2011 season, and were re-united for the 2014 season at Yamaha when Rossi’s signature became available again.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Yamaha from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

Valentino Rossi was ‘quite angry’ with Yamaha for signing Jorge Lorenzo as a rookie

Speaking on the MotoGP web series, Tales of Valentino, Rossi recalled the moment he found out that Yamaha would be signing the reigning 250cc champion ahead of the 2008 season. He was furious at the move, stating, “I was quite angry with Yamaha because they thought that they needed a newcomer, they needed a very strong rival.

“I said, ‘F— why?’”

Rossi’s anger was due to the fact that he had already established himself as one of the greats in MotoGP, but he felt like the move was undermining the success he had brought to the Japanese constructor.

“I bet on Yamaha in 2004 when Yamaha was very, very slow,” Rossi continued. “And we won a lot of championships together. I didn’t deserve Jorge Lorenzo as my teammate, I needed a little bit less.”

The Italian rider went on to assert his place as the number one rider in 2008 and 2009, winning consecutive championships. Despite his teammate’s success, Lorenzo was pushing Rossi to the very brink, finishing as the runner-up to Rossi in 2009.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Valentino Rossi from stats to net worth

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo went on to have some thrilling battles in MotoGP

2010 would be the first season in which Lorenzo bested Rossi. The Spaniard claimed his first of three premier class world championships in a season which saw him dominantly take the chequered flag for a total of nine times.

The feat was part of one of Lorenzo’s proudest achievements, which would be realised years later after the emergence of Marc Marquez.

The Spaniard is the only rider to have beaten every member of the ‘Fantastic Five’, a select group of legendary MotoGP riders to have made their marks on the modern era.

The battles between the two heavyweights of the sport got so intense that Lorenzo had to ‘risk crashing’ at the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix in order to beat him. The win was his fourth of seven in 2015, which also marked the year of Lorenzo’s final MotoGP world championship.