Although Pedrosa and Lorenzo raced each other for two seasons in 125GP - during 2002 and 2003 - they were rarely in direct conflict, and it was only when Lorenzo fought reigning 250cc champion Pedrosa head-on during the 2005 quarter-litre season that the fireworks between them - and their respective team managers - really began to ignite.
The rivalry reached its on-track climax with a collision between them at the 2005 German Grand Prix, which sent Lorenzo to the ground.
The incident occurred when the Fortuna Honda rookie tried to overtake Pedrosa on the inside of the fast left-hander at the bottom of the Sachsenring hill, but Dani appeared not to see his countryman and cut across the front of the #48.
Pedrosa's Movistar Honda suffered a bent exhaust in the resulting impact - but he still went on to take victory - while Lorenzo was eliminated on the spot.
"I tried to get past Pedrosa because I was very quick out of the corners, but he did everything to try and stop me," claimed Lorenzo at the time. "In the end he hit me, on another day I could have hit him. It's one of those things."
For his part, Pedrosa said that he simply hadn't seen Lorenzo. "I suddenly noticed that somebody hit me from the back," declared Dani. "The bike went up and I avoided a crash like a miracle."
But Lorenzo's team manager didn't accept that explanation.
"I am surprised by the comments of
Dani Pedrosa who claimed he did not see Jorge," declared Dani Amatriain. "I think maybe he should change his helmet because obviously the one he has at the moment doesn't let him see very much. From what I saw, and have subsequently seen on television, I am very clear on who the aggressor was and who wasn't..."
And so the war of words continued for the rest of the '05 season, with Pedrosa arguably having the last laugh by beating Lorenzo in their final 250cc race together - and thereby denying Jorge of his final chance to replace him as the youngest ever winner of a 250cc grand prix.
