MotoGP Champion Lorenzo Refused To Race in Japan & Said " I don't want to go to Japan..."

"I don't want to go to Japan. I don't feel safe to go there. I do not want to wait 20 years wondering if something will happen to me or my children... " Jorge Lorenzo


Due to the radiation leakage situation, the MotoGP authority will make a decision on whether the Japanese MotoGP race will go ahead in October.

Fears about radiation caused by the extensive damage suffered to the Fukushima nuclear plant has spread a culture of fear in parts of the MotoGP paddock, particularly with several high profile riders.

The world champion Jorge Lorenzo is the one most gripped by paranoia, the Spaniard ramming home his reluctance to race in Japan throughout the course of his home round near Barcelona last weekend.

Such is Lorenzo's anxiety about that he cast aside his bitter rivalry with former factory Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi to stage an impromptu meeting in his motorhome on Friday night.

Lorenzo said: "I don't want to go to Japan. I don't feel safe to go there. I do not want to wait 20 years wondering if something will happen to me or my children. You will not convince me. I guess 99 per cent of the riders are not so excited to go there. I went to speak to Valentino because he has strong power in the paddock and if some of the strong riders decide not to go then I think the race will be difficult for the organisation to make it. But I don’t know if some riders are completely decided to not go."