Reddit reviews Jorge Lorenzo: The New King of MotoGP

I don't mind Lorenzo answering silly questions. What I mind about him is the same everyone's always disliked about him: his arrogance, his abysmally low self-esteem and with it, his incessant need for praise. At first it was just my default fanboy dislike of Lorenzo: "I like Rossi so I hate anyone who beats him". But as he earned his credits as a MotoGP rider, and as Rossi's career has begun its amazingly slow sunset, it hasn't become easier to like Lorenzo when his helmet's off.

It starts, for me, with the autobiography he had released when he won his first MotoGP championship. It was titled "The New King of MotoGP". This, despite the fact that Rossi was and still is the main man, and despite Casey Stoner's say in the matter (he trounced Lorenzo the following year). Lorenzo wanted so hard to be this new king that his post-race celebrations made fun of the man whose place he literally aspired to claim. And this season, more than ever Lorenzo has had to blow his own trumpet and it shows (again) in this interview.

He is rarely (if ever) compared to the greats of the sport, so he has resorted to doing that himself. It's not the pundits or the fans who compare him and his accomplishments to Rossi, Kenny Roberts Sr., Wayne Rainey or Ayrton Senna. He himself drops those names and outright says, "I'm part of that list now". I don't think I've ever seen another rider try so desperately to launch himself onto the lists of all-time greats. The men he mentions earned their respect, their fans and their achievements on track but also off it. Their legendary status wasn't taken by force, but given by those around them. I don't think it suits a rider to demand such status - the titles will get him high onto any list of legends, but it's up to the world at large to judge them.

Mind: Lorenzo is a phenomenal rider. He's absolutely right that he got five world championships, of which three in MotoGP, and that's pretty special. It just doesn't make me like the guy, whether I'm a fan of Rossi or not.

Jorge Lorenzo: My Story So Far

Jorge Lorenzo: The New King of MotoGP