Mat Oxley says Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo actually ‘despise each other’

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Many might assume that Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo have a great relationship in MotoGP, but Mat Oxley suggests that it is far from true.

The Spaniards were involved in perhaps the most controversial title fight in MotoGP history in 2015, as Lorenzo beat Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi for the crown, with Marquez in third.

Rossi sensationally accused Marquez of helping Lorenzo to win the championship as their intense rivalry reached breaking point with the infamous ‘kick’ at Sepang. But as Oxley alludes to, the two compatriots had an intense feud of their own.

Lorenzo knew he was in trouble when Marquez joined Honda in 2013. He was immediately on the pace of his more experienced teammate, winning six titles between 2013 and 2019.

Lorenzo was no match for Marquez on equal machinery, and the pair did not get along behind closed doors during their title battles.

Mat Oxley says Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo ‘despise each other’ in MotoGP

Oxley discussed the rivalry between Aprilia and Ducati on his Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast after the Thailand Grand Prix. Marco Bezzecchi claimed a dominant victory in Buriram, and the journalist highlighted how there is ‘real animosity’ between the Italian factories.

“I think it’s kind of a weird place to start the season, with the tyre and so on,” he said. “So I think, yeah, we’ve got to reserve judgment until Goiania next, then COTA, then Qatar. And Marc said, it’s going to be Jerez before we really know where the things are.

“But I mean, it’s great that Aprilia are there, and also I really like the fact that Aprilia and Ducati kind of hate each other really, there’s a real animosity between them.”

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He then discussed the similarities between riders from the same nation: “I think it’s the same with riders from the same country. They usually hate each other because they’re all kind of vying for home support.

“The whole thing that Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo loved each other to screw over Valentino Rossi. No, they f—— despise each other. They really do.

“You think of Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson and Kevin Schwantz, there’s that whole sort of hometown… everybody wants to be the hometown hero, right?

“And therefore you hate the guy that’s trying to be the hometown hero instead of you. But it certainly adds a sort of extra kind of spiciness to the whole thing.”