Jorge Lorenzo has recently weighed in on the MotoGP booing debate, recalling his own experience of being booed by fans, despite being a Spanish rider. The former MotoGP World Champion recalled the negative reception he received in his homeland of Spain after securing his second premier class title at the end of the 2015 season.
That year, Lorenzo was crowned champion at the final round in Valencia, but his victory was surrounded by the controversial battle between Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. The 2015 season was extremely dramatic, full of emotions and rivalries, and although Lorenzo celebrated his title, the Spanish fans did not give him a warm welcome. Speaking to AS , Lorenzo explained how, upon arriving at the parc fermé, both he and Marquez were booed by around 80% of the Spanish public. “Marquez and I arrived at the parc fermé and 80% of the Spanish public booed us because we were Rossi fans,” Lorenzo said, recalling that the fans seemed angry due to the rivalry between him and Rossi.
But the situation did not end there. As he recounted, hours later, during his celebration with his family, a group of about 50 fans began to insult his mother, accusing her that her son had “stolen” the championship from them. These fans, according to Lorenzo, were Spanish and “Rossistas”, which made the situation even more painful, given the context of the rivalry between him and Rossi. Lorenzo could not help but compare this rivalry with football, saying that it was like that of the football teams Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, where the division of fans is so strong that it reaches hatred.
That 2015 season, in fact, is considered one of the most intense and dramatic chapters in recent MotoGP history. The battle between Rossi, Lorenzo and Márquez was full of tension and conflict, and although Lorenzo won the championship, the way he did it was controversial and divided the fans. “When I was Rossi’s rival, the fans were very divided. I would say there was hatred, like you see in football. Real Madrid – FC Barcelona,” Lorenzo added, highlighting the intensity of that rivalry, which for him was very strong compared to the current situation.
This year, Valentino Rossi looked back on that season, particularly criticising Marc Marquez’s role in the title fight, arguing that Marquez had done everything to prevent him from winning the championship. On the other hand, Lorenzo said that the 2015 title was the one he was most proud of, given that he did not lead the championship in any race until the last round, despite having suffered a lot of bad luck during the year. “It is the title I am most proud of,” Lorenzo said. “I did not lead the championship in any race until the last. I suffered a lot and fought until the end because I had a lot of bad luck that year. But I did not throw in the towel.”
Although the animosity from that season has faded over the years, it seems to still linger, as demonstrated by this year’s incident at the Misano Grand Prix, where Marquez was booed by the Italian crowd during his podium appearance. Although Marquez now rides for the Ducati team, the rivalry with Rossi remains a hot topic among fans. Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia tried to stop the booing from the crowd and criticised the behaviour, something which Marquez publicly thanked. Such attitudes reflect how, despite the passage of time, memories of those intense rivalries from the 2015 season still mark MotoGP fans.
