Marco Bezzecchi
Valentino Rossi spends the majority of his time racing in four-wheeled series nowadays and has left his motorcycle career behind him.
His Yamaha glory days won’t be forgotten in a rush, though. He’s one of the most successful MotoGP riders of all time.
Rossi didn’t get the fairytale premier class ending he desired, and actually went 12 years without a title before he retired.
Along the way, he made some fierce rivals and had some terrific battles. The best of which was his 2009 Barcelona fight with Jorge Lorenzo.
Lorenzo thought Rossi deserved to have his ‘licence revoked’ for his infamous leg kick with Marc Marquez back in 2013.
But just a few years later, Rossi showed how much he respects Marquez by backing him to bounce back from an injury with immediate success.
READ MORE: Pedro Acosta thinks MotoGP has changed for the worse since Marc Marquez was fighting Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi once named Jorge Lorenzo his ‘favourite’ to battle in MotoGP
Rossi was ‘bigger than motorcycle racing’ and had a massive following. To this day, his loyal fans continue to show their support for him.
During their time as teammates, Lorenzo was ‘annoyed’ at Rossi on multiple occasions, but that’s always going to happen in elite sport with high stakes.
Lorenzo’s verdict on the Marquez vs Rossi debate
When discussing his favourite battles through the years, the seven-time champion revealed who his favourite to battle was.
“A long, long career, and a lot of different rivals,” he said in a MotoGP interview back in 2014. “A lot of great, great riders, also of a different age, a different moment of the career. In the past, I liked to battle with Capirossi a lot, a lot of battles. Biaggi, but now, Stoner is very strong.
“I want to say also, Lorenzo, that in 2009 we had a great battle here in Barcelona. Now, Marquez. Difficult to say, maybe with Lorenzo, the battle. Also, because we have the same bike, same team, so it’s more wide.”
READ MORE: Casey Stoner once stated why Valentino Rossi doesn’t ‘come close’ to 137-race rider as MotoGP’s GOAT
How long were Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha teammates for?
Lorenzo joined MotoGP back in 2008 and won a race at the third time of asking. It didn’t take him long to start beating the legendary Rossi.
The following year, he finished second in the standings and continued to improve. In 2010, he claimed his first title.
But his three-season spell alongside him came to an end when Rossi decided to move to Ducati for 2011 and 2012.
In 2013, they were reunited and continued as teammates until the end of 2016. In 2015, they would enjoy a thrilling and remarkable battle.
Seven seasons as part of the same team, and overall, it was pretty even. Rossi won two titles, and so did Lorenzo. Fortunately, they never really had a calamitous incident, unlike Marquez.
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