Pirro: The ban on “wildcard” performances is Honda’s revenge against Lorenzo

Ducati test racer Michele Pirro believes the decision to ban wildcard appearances this season is unfair. In addition, he also suspects that the decision could be related to the Honda team, where they do not want their former racer Jorge Lorenzo to compete for Yamaha.

The decision to ban wildcard performances in this year’s truncated season was otherwise officially confirmed last week with the desire to reduce the number of people in the paddock to a minimum when the season begins. A decision that means we won't see Jorge Lorenzo in the race this year. It also changes the plans of other teams, which have used this opportunity several times in the past seasons. Pirro is one of those racers who has appeared in races as a wildcard racer in recent seasons. Last year he competed in Mugello, Misano and Valencia, and this year he would definitely be accompanied at one of the races.

In an interview with the Motosprint portal, the Italian racer expressed dissatisfaction with the ban on wildcard performances this year. According to him, this decision should be influenced by Honda, where they do not want Jorge Lorenzo to compete for their big rivals - Yamaha.

“I’m very disappointed with the decision,” began Pirro, who got to know Lorenzo better during the Spaniard’s two-year period at Ducati.

“To make such an important decision so much time in advance is not right in my opinion. I don’t think that’s a way to get revenge on someone and also fair. I would understand if the decision was made a month before the start of the race. At the moment, we don't even know when exactly it will all start and how many races we will have. Maybe it's some kind of revenge on Honda Lorenzo because he switched to Yamaha. I think Lorenzo can give a lot more to the MotoGP class. ”