The report also appears on the official MotoGP website.
Lorenzo lost out on last year’s MotoGP crown by just four points to Honda’s Marc Marquez, but won more races than any other rider and outscored illustrious team-mate Valentino Rossi by eight wins to one.
With the exception of Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow, all of the present Factory team riders are out of contract at the end of this season.
Lorenzo has been a Yamaha rider since his 2008 premier-class debut, but rumours that he will examine other options come as little surprise – the Spaniard having entered serious negotiations with rival manufacturers prior to two of his three previous contract extensions.
At the end of Lorenzo’s initial MotoGP contract he was targeted by Ducati for 2010 before signing a further one-year Yamaha deal.
Lorenzo extended his contract by two seasons after clinching his first MotoGP title, while Rossi left for Ducati. But Lorenzo then came close to an agreement with Honda before inking another two-year Yamaha contract, during 2012.
Given his stellar performances in recent seasons – on machinery regarded as below the level of the factory Hondas – Lorenzo’s ‘value’ is at an all time high and he is sure to again be targeted by rival teams for 2015.
But it is hard to believe that Lorenzo has made such a radical decision so early in the year – before a wheel has even turned in pre-season testing, let alone the start of the racing season. In terms of championship chances, a switch to Ducati would also currently be a step backwards, the manufacturer having not won a race since Casey Stoner’s exit at the end of 2010.
Instead, some will suggest that the leaking of an apparent big-money rival offer is simply designed to speed-up the 2015 Lorenzo-Yamaha negotiations.
Lorenzo and Rossi will unveil the 2014 Yamaha in Jakarta on Friday.
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