Jorge Lorenzo says it was he who “made the first approach” to Repsol Honda about replacing Dani Pedrosa in 2019, after it became “clear” Ducati would not be retaining the triple MotoGP champion.
Honda made the shock announcement last week that it had secured the services of Lorenzo for two years, just a day after it confirmed long-time rider Pedrosa would be departing at the end of the current season.
Lorenzo had been linked with a move to the rumoured Petronas-backed Yamaha project, and was adamant that his dominant Mugello victory would do nothing to save his career with Ducati.
The Spaniard – who will be replaced by Danilo Petrucci – confirmed he thought there was a chance he would continue with Ducati into '19 coming into the Le Mans weekend, but says it was “clear from the outside” after the event that the Italian marque was seeking a replacement.
When asked how the deal with Honda came about, he said: “My goal and my first priority was to say in Ducati and finish what I started.
“It was just until Le Mans that I realised that Ducati wanted to swap me or change me, or plan to put in another rider and we started to plan another way into my future.
“But until Le Mans, I wanted to win races and if possible the championship [with Ducati]. I won a race [at Mugello], the championship is not impossible, but next year I will be competing with another manufacturer.
“As I said before, until Le Mans I just wanted [to stay at Ducati] and I thought we could continue together.
“But after Le Mans it was clear from the outside, my feeling was the probability that Ducati wanted to swap riders was huge.
“So together with my manager Albert, we started to think of some new projects, and I had to say that I made this approach [to Honda] after Le Mans.”
The Honda has proven to be a difficult bike to ride in recent years, but Lorenzo says his past successes on different machinery has given him the “capacity” for success on the RC213V.
“I entered in the World Championship when I was 16, and they [Honda] understand, they know how fast I can be with a motorcycle,” he added.
“I won with Derbi [in 125cc], I stayed just one year in 250cc with Honda and I got some pole positions, not a victory, [but] some podiums.
“In Aprilia [in 250cc] I won races, in Yamaha I won races and championships. So sooner or later I have this capacity, this talent to go fast with a motorcycle.
“I have worked a lot of hours training, I have this capacity. I know what I'm able to do with a bike.
“For sure this will be a difficult challenge, but I am a person of the present, I don't look so much on the future, and I still have a lot of things to do with Ducati.”
