MotoGP: Sparks also between Lorenzo and Simoncelli

The Rossi Stoner controversy with the Australian who accused the Pesaro on several occasions was not enough (it all started with Rossi's fall in Jerez which involved the Australian); now it's Lorenzo and Simoncelli's turn who spoke about it with no holds barred in the post-qualifying conference of the Portuguese Grand Prix. The two had a harsh exchange of views after Simoncelli was questioned about comments made by the Spaniard yesterday in Portugal. Lorenzo had spoken of a "tough" Simoncelli, recalling the brawl at Valencia 2010. "I don't like his way of overtaking, he's too aggressive. I can't say anything negative about his speed. He's a great driver, very fast, a talented driver. , but he is too aggressive and most of the riders think like me.”

In today's press conference, when journalists asked SuperSic for a comment on Lorenzo's words, the Gresini team rider replied: “I read something that Jorge said about my riding style, but for me he said the wrong things. He said that last year in Valencia I overtook and he almost crashed, but that's not true because I was in front and he tried to pass me and made a mistake; he even hit me. I still have his tracksuit with the tire marks on it. Then another thing, a few years ago he was disqualified by the Race Direction for his aggressive driving style, so for me he said the wrong thing."

Lorenzo then replied: “For my part, yesterday I spoke with the right words and for me it's not a problem if nothing happens in the future. We'll see what happens." Simoncelli then responded by saying “They will arrest me!” and here general laughter started, which however was not at all liked by Lorenzo who, appearing agitated and serious, responded as follows: "There is nothing to laugh about here, it's not funny because we are playing with our lives and we are driving at 300 km /we are riding very powerful and very heavy motorbikes. These are not mini-bikes. This is a dangerous sport and you have to think about what to do. I don't like unclean fighting. I also made mistakes a lot of times and crashed in Japan involving De Angelis, it was my fault. So from that moment on I tried to ride clean. I can make a mistake because I'm a human being but usually when I'm on a motorbike I think twice about it. It's one thing to play with your own health, it's another to play with that of other drivers.”