Lorenzo Says Stoner Will Be Biggest Competitor

Jorge Lorenzo could become the first rider since 1998, excluding his former teammate Valentino Rossi, to successfully defend a MotoGP Championship title. Of course, in order to do so he'll have to beat out riders like Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, and Nicky Hayden. But one rider has Lorenzo particularly worried, and it isn't his revenge seeking former teammate.

”I keep saying Casey is my closest competitor because we are the fastest now,” Lorenzo said. “Seeing from the Valencia test result and how our best times were so close.”

Stoner will be on a new bike next year, but he is already adapting quite well. At the Valencia test, Stoner finished just .113 seconds behind the 2010 Champion. Rossi, on the other hand, only managed a 15th place finish on his Ducati.

”He only rode for two days with Ducati so it's too soon to know about him (Rossi) with Ducati,” said Lorenzo. “He's a great sportsman, has a good image, won nine world titles, is really talented and is capable of winning with Ducati… But remember, Ducati has only won the title with Casey.”