MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi kicked off the Sepang weekend by saying it is title rival and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo that is under pressure to take victory in Malaysia.

But the Spaniard told a different story, saying there was no pressure as he has nothing to lose, only a third championship to win.

“This is the first chance. This means a little bit more pressure for Jorge because he have to arrive in front of me and take some point before Valencia but is the same,” said Rossi, speaking at the track.

“You have to always give the maximum, especially to work well during the practice, understand what’s happen with the weather and arrive ready for the race on Sunday.”

“There is no pressure. I think in Misano I make a big mistake and the championship was almost lost so we can just win it, we can’t lose it because it is already complicated,” countered Lorenzo.

“In the last three races we recover a lot of points. In Australia, I lose the possibility to rely on myself but is OK because we could just gain four points. We have been always behind but now we have the possibility to win. We have nothing to lose.”