Pedrosa on Lorenzo feud: “I made mistakes - uncomfortable memories”

Pedrosa will roll back the years this weekend when he makes a wildcard appearance for KTM at the Spanish MotoGP, his home race and the scene of an iconic moment 15 years ago.

King Juan Carlos of Spain played peacemaker at Jerez in 2008, forcibly making heated rivals Pedrosa and Lorenzo shake hands, although it wasn’t to end the animosity immediately.

“It was an important point, after what happened, everyone was talking about it,” Pedrosa told Revelo as he prepares to race in MotoGP again.

“He and I continued with that personal tension, it was not natural for us to talk, share opinions or like each other. 

“Each had an opposite character to the other, that's what made the clash stronger. 

“Over time that moment helped, mutual respect grew and the type of relationship changed.”

Pedrosa and Lorenzo’s feud began in lower classes but continued into MotoGP.

It piqued in Germany in 2005 when a clash left Lorenzo in the gravel.

In their later years, there began to be rays of light and, today, they are colleagues as MotoGP commentators and pundits in Spain.

Pedrosa will swap the microphone for the leathers in Jerez this weekend, with Lorenzo remaining in his commentary role.

“[Looking back], I have good memories,” Pedrosa said about their on-track rivalry. 

“In the moment, tense, uncomfortable memories. 

“We were fighting, there was friction, statements, tension on the track, if you beat or beat him, for both of us to lose was very bad.

“They are not good memories, but in the past they are good because we pushed each other in such a way that that caused us to raise our level to a point where we were left only him and me, the others were a clear step behind.”

Pedrosa was asked if, now aged 37 and with hindsight, he would still act the same way towards Lorenzo.

“I made mistakes, mistakes, that I would have liked not to make,” he said.

“They are part of learning, of knowing yourself better and things are also changing, you learn as you go. 

“Obviously, if I could, I would have done different things, but most of them I wouldn't.”