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MotoGP's star duo Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo have pledged to make the most of their "love-hate relationship" as the two rivals prepare to start the new season as team-mates.
Marquez and Lorenzo have won eight of the last nine world championships, with Marquez claiming five and Lorenzo three. The pair are now uniting, after Lorenzo left Ducati to join Marquez at Honda.
'Love-hate relationship'
"Even if we are team-mates, on the track we are rivals, but always with respect," said Marquez at a press conference in Madrid on Wednesday.
"I don't like this idea of a 'dream team'. It is only a dream team if at the end of the season we're still in the running."
"It's natural for Marc and I to compete," added Lorenzo. "It's a love-hate relationship that makes us better."
Marquez won the 2018 title after finishing 76 points ahead of Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso.
Lorenzo, who came ninth, said he can learn from his fellow Spaniard this season, which begins in Qatar on March 10.
"I'm joining this team with a lot of humility," Lorenzo said. "I have a lot to learn from Marc and I'm very happy to be joining.
"With this kind story, having two roosters in the same backyard, people usually see only the negatives. I think having two excellent drivers will help us both to grow. It means neither of us can relax."
Pre-season testing starts next month
Marquez and Lorenzo have both seen their preparations for the new season affected by fitness problems.
Lorenzo injured his left wrist in a dirt-bike crash on Saturday and has since undergone surgery while Marquez is still recovering from an operation he had on his shoulder in December.
"I hope in 2019 the injuries will leave us and the victories will arrive," said Marquez, who expects to be ready for the first pre-season test at Serang between February 6 and 8.
Lorenzo, however, will be absent in Malaysia but is hoping to make the tests in Qatar between February 23 and 25.