“We were honourable runners-up,” said the Yamaha Factory Racing rider. “We never threw in the towel at any time and pushed until the very end. We achieved eight races victories – more than anybody else – and scored many points despite errors, crashes and injuries. At the end of the day, a championship is decided by a combination of factors; the main thing is how fast you go, but you must also consider the bike factor and the matter of bad luck.”

On the other side of the Yamaha garage for 2014, teammate Valentino Rossi will be working with a new Crew Chief as Silvano Galbusera replaces Jeremy Burgess. However, there will be some personnel changes for Lorenzo as well.

“Yes, there are two mechanics who have decided to leave the team because they are tired of travelling after so many years,” the Mallorcan explains. “One has decided to retire and the other is going to start a business outside of racing. But at the heart of things, (Crew Chief) Ramon Forcada plus the Japanese telemetry engineers will continue, so we can safely say that 80% of the team will be remaining the same.”