Jorge Lorenzo Hopes for Happier Times Alongside Ben Spies

There’s no secret that the relationship between the 2010 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi has been through some harsh times over the past three seasons. The two riders haven’t shared only smiles during the time they shared the Fiat Yamaha garage, which made the Italian to eventually jump ship to Ducati.

However, the situation seems to be completely different with Lorenzo’s current teammate, Ben Spies, as the 23-year-old Spaniard has recently pointed out that it will likely be a ‘Little easier’ than his partnership with The Doctor was.

“Ben seems like a nice guy,” Lorenzo told Crash.net Radio in an exclusive interview. “Our relationship is good. We share some jokes together, and I think it's going to be a little bit easier than with Valentino. We are rivals, we are competitors and we are going to fight to try to beat each other – that's the reality – but our relationship is going to be okay. Ben pushed me this year already! Next year with a factory bike and with more experience, for sure he is going to fight for wins – and maybe for the world title.”

The Spaniard is seen as a title favorite for a second consecutive season, since his main rivals Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner have switched to Ducati and Honda respectively, therefore having to compete on new bikes.

“It depends,” the 23-year-old Spaniard commented. “On the one hand, it's true that Valentino and Casey for example will be on new bikes that they don't have so much experience of, but they both have really high motivation, and this for sure will help them to be faster. Valentino is Italian and Ducati is Italian, so it's a big challenge for them – but I think they are going to fight to win from the first race. I think it's a really interesting change for MotoGP and all the people who watch it.”