MotoGP news: Valentino Rossi opens up on Jorge Lorenzo to Yamaha claims
VALENTINO ROSSI admits Jorge Lorenzo is right to be tempted by a return to Yamaha.
MotoGP star Lorenzo won thee championships with Yamaha before leaving for Ducati last year.
He finished seventh in the championship last season - his worth place since racing for Derbi back in 2003.
And this year Lorenzo has retired in two of the five Grands Prix so far, with a highest place of eighth in France.
He was a long-time team-mate of Rossi at Movistar Yamaha, with Maverick Vinales having now taken up the Spaniard’s seat.
And Rossi was asked if he could ever see Lorenzo return to his team.
He is a great driver
"A return of Lorenzo to Yamaha? He is a great driver,” Rossi said ahead of the ItalianGP this weekend.
“It will be hard if he should return, but the situation is similar to this year with (Johann) Zarco going very strong.
“At Yamaha there are always very strong drivers, but when you have a bike so fast you always have very high motivations.”
Rossi’s team-mate Vinales currently sits second in the MotoGP Riders’ Championship, with Honda’s Marc Marquez leading the way.
Zarco, at Monster Yamaha Tech 3, lies third - one spot above Rossi.
Andrea Dovizioso won the ItalianGP last season and Rossi said of his home race: "The GP of Italy is historic for us Italians.
“The track is fantastic, it is important for us to understand what our level is, we will start with a base similar to that of Le Mans.”