Jorge Lorenzo has no doubt why his third MotoGP world championship was the most important day of his career.
Lorenzo has deep pride in his achievement which marks him as the first rider to beat all the 21st century aliens to a championship.
It is a superstar list – Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez.
And crucially Lorenzo notes that he is the first rider to end the championship winning streak of fellow Spaniard Marc Marquez who was champion in 2013 and ’14.
Lorenzo won seven races on the way to championship and led every lap of those races.
The championship deciding race was Sunday’s Valencia Grand Prix and Lorenzo led all 30 laps to edge Yamaha teammate and bitter rival Rossi by five points in title showdown.
Lorenzo’s trio of world crowns in 2010, 2012 and 2015 has come against some of fastest and classiest riders in the history of the sport.
“I knew this championship was very important because for me Valentino, who is older than me, Casey who is more or less the same age as me and Marc who is younger, are the three hardest rivals that I ever raced against,” Lorenzo said.
“And in my opinion in the 21st century they’ve been the best riders, and amongst the best even of the past 25 years.
“So being able to win titles in different years against these riders was my goal.
“I feel very proud of it because if Valentino was the champion he could say that. Marquez cannot say that because he has never beaten Casey who is now retired.
“So it was very important for me to win.”
Lorenzo has now won three of six world championships since his first championship in 2010 and his 40 MotoGP race wins put him fourth on the all time list behind only Rossi (86), Giacomo Agostini (68) and Mick Doohan (54) and just ahead of Stoner (38).
Determined to enjoy his career defining third title Lorenzo dismisses suggestions that his 2015 championship is devalued by the late season fall out with teammate Rossi and the recriminations of Rossi’s feud with Marquez.
“I think the people who really know about motorbikes understand my value as a rider, as a champion,” Lorenzo said.
“They will be happy with my achievement. Obviously the people who support Valentino will never be happy about this championship.
“But a champion is a champion and one who has my statistics this year, in my opinion, deserves this championship.”
Lorenzo – The Championship Numbers
Points 330
Race Wins 7
Pole Positions 5
Laps Led 274