MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo thinks “why cannot he do it?” when “much less gifted riders” than Maverick Vinales have fought for the title within the premier class.
Final month, three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo introduced that he can be working alongside Maverick Vinales as rider coach.
Vinales made his MotoGP debut in 2015 after only one 12 months in Moto2 and was instantly tipped as a possible world champion.
However after stints with Suzuki, Yamaha, Aprilia and now KTM’s Tech3, Vinales has simply 10 wins to his credit score.
Vinales entered MotoGP in 2017, changing Lorenzo at Yamaha, however was kicked out by the Japanese producer in mid-2021.
In three full seasons with Aprilia, he gained only one Grand Prix.
He began 2025 as KTM’s high rider, however an harm halfway by the marketing campaign in the end hampered his progress on the RC16.
Vinales was ‘intimidating’ when he joined Yamaha
The partnership between Lorenzo and Viñales is anticipated to deliver even higher success for Viñales, who was branded “horrible” by the three-time champion after transferring to Yamaha in 2017.
Lorenzo additionally believes that riders “much less gifted” than Vinales can nonetheless compete for titles in MotoGP and there’s no motive why they can’t.
“He was one among my 5 or 6 strongest rivals, particularly after I moved to Yamaha,” Lorenzo mentioned on the podcast.
“After the Sepang check (in 2017), he grew to become intimidating.
“As a result of when it comes to expertise, the Mavericks have all the time been like an important 4 or 5.
“I want to examine him (with myself, Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner).
“By way of pure pace, he has nothing to envy.
“Casey Stoner might be the one one who has one thing extra, or one thing particular, when it comes to pure expertise.
“However he has nothing to envy Valentino Rossi or Dani Pedrosa and even Marc Marquez or me.
“I all the time say to him: If a rider with much less expertise and pure pace can struggle for a world championship, why cannot he?”
