“Truth hurts!” - Giacomo Agostini stands by criticism of Jorge Lorenzo

Of all the many on and off-track feuds that have erupted over the years in MotoGP, the brewing spat between grand prix champions Giacomo Agostini and Jorge Lorenzo is proving to be one of the strangest yet.

The ten-time world champion stoked the fire initially in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport in which he suggested Lorenzo’s decision to retire was because he couldn’t get his head in the game, saying ‘twice he has failed [Ducati and then Honda] and has not achieved results, after Ducati Honda. The bike is important, but sometimes it's the head that makes the difference.’

That earned him a curt retort from Lorenzo on social media – something he has not been adverse to doing in the past – by writing in an Instagram post “do I owe money to this man or what? He says I failed in Ducati ... Come on man! How easy it is to talk when you haven't ridden a motorcycle for 50 years.”

Even Lorenzo’s father Chico got involved in the war of words, saying his son’s decision to leave Yamaha was a ‘courageous choice’ and pointed out how he could challenge Marc Marquez on his day.

Undeterred, Agostini has snapped right back during an interview with DAZN, where he stood by his original words saying he is within his right to criticise Lorenzo just as much as he would praise him for his successes.

"The truth hurts,” he said. “I don't need to lick anyone's feet, and just as I have always complimented Lorenzo on doing great things, so I feel free to criticize him when he has failed.

“I always liked Jorge, for how he won, for how he drove and how he managed the races. I have always expressed very positive judgments about him, to the point that the part of the Yamaha box that follows Valentino looked at me badly. Unfortunately, and I say this with great regret, Lorenzo did not do what was expected of him at Ducati.”

Agostini’s reference of Lorenzo’s time at Ducati concerns his performances with the Italian manufacturer during the first 18 months of a two-year stint that yielded indifferent results.

However, just as it was confirmed Lorenzo on his way out of the team having failed to live up to his star billing (and wage demands), the Spaniard’s form took a sudden upturn with three wins from six races at Mugello, Catalunya and the Red Bull Ring.

While Agostini accepts Lorenzo’s time at Ducati wasn’t a total failure, he says it wasn’t the success it should have been given the ‘fortune’ he was paid.

“If you hire a great manager in a company and pay him a lot, you expect certain results. In Ducati they let him go. In the end it is the results that count, it is the report card and what is written on it. 

“He is a great champion, have they paid him a fortune and how many races has he won in two years? Three races and it is little. It may have been a 70% failure and not a 100% failure, but it is still a failure. " 

Your move, Jorge…