Movistar Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo has insisted that he won the 2015 MotoGP title purely on merit.Lorenzo clinched the title in controversial circumstances after his team-mate, Valentino Rossi, was forced to start from the back of the grid at the season finale in Valencia after he was found to have kicked Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez off his bike at the penultimate race of the season at Sepang.
Despite having a seven-point lead heading into the race in Valencia, Rossi couldn’t stop Lorenzo from beating him to the title, with Lorenzo winning the race while Rossi finished fourth.
“I’ve been the fastest one, and the one who deserved more the world title,” Lorenzo told reporters. “Finally, for some circumstances, some conditions, sometimes some bad luck, I lose a lot of points, and this didn’t help to arrive in Valencia with some points of advantage that will help me a lot to be more quiet and to win the championship with more advantage. Finally the important thing is we won the world title, and this is the thing that we will remember and will stay on the books.
“The thing is that this thing in Sepang happened, with Márquez and Rossi, I was not involved, never on the track. It’s not my game, it’s something they have to solve all together. I will strive to do my best. And the statistics speak for themselves: I am the one with more victories, with more pole positions, more laps leading, a lot of podiums, I don’t have to demonstrate anything to anyone.”
When asked if he felt that winning the title in such circumstances made it less special in his eyes, the 28-year-old said: “Not for my side. And not for the expert view, because the people who really know about motorbikes and see all the championship, not only the races, but also the Friday practice, the Saturday practice, as well as the races, who see not only the statistics, but also see how everyone rides on the track.”
Lorenzo will begin his title defence on March 20 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.