Three-time MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo believes Marc Marquez “almost seems like me” in terms of his riding style, having become “very smooth, very precise”.
Jorge Lorenzo was famed for his ultra-smooth riding style during his MotoGP career, which helped him to three world titles between 2010 and 2015.
Marc Marquez, by contrast, came into MotoGP with a more bombastic riding style, which saw him test limits few could.
Since his serious arm injury in 2020, however, Marquez has repeatedly spoken about how he has had to change his approach.
This is something that Lorenzo has visibly noticed about the factory Ducati rider when he’s on track, noting that he is “very calculated” now.
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“What has impressed me most about Marc is that he has reinvented himself, he has reinvented his riding style,” Lorenzo told the official MotoGP website during the Sepang test broadcast.
“Today, when you see Marc, he almost seems like me: he’s very smooth, he doesn’t make any mistakes when braking, he never runs wide, he’s very precise and very fluid when straightening the bike.
“When he started in MotoGP, he was completely different.
“He set his own times and reached speeds solely thanks to his talent, because he was brave and took a lot of risks.
“But now, everything he does, he does in a very calculated, very thoughtful way. He has changed a lot compared to 10 years ago.”
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Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, 2013 Spanish MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
Lorenzo and Marquez engaged in a tense rivalry during the latter’s early years of his MotoGP career.
The pair fought to the final round of the 2013 world championship, with Marquez ultimately prevailing for the first of his seven MotoGP titles.
Their rivalry continued in the following years, with Lorenzo winning his third world title in 2015, before they became team-mates in 2019 at Honda.
However, Lorenzo struggled to adapt to the Honda and retired at the end of the 2019 season despite having a contract with HRC for 2020.
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Lorenzo maintained a connection to the MotoGP paddock following his retirement, first as a Yamaha test rider, before starting his own YouTube podcast and occasionally acting as a pundit for DAZN.
In 2026, he will have a more permanent role in the paddock after agreeing a deal to become Maverick Vinales’ performance coach over the winter.
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