OMNISPORT

Jorge Lorenzo will take time to travel and "party" before deciding on his next career move after calling time on his competitive MotoGP career.

The Spanish great announced the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix would be his last race and he finished 13th in front of his home fans on Sunday.

It has been a disappointing final campaign for the three-time MotoGP champion, who has struggled with injuries and form after switching to Repsol Honda.

Lorenzo is open to the possibility of taking on a position as a test rider in the future but for now he plans to unwind after a brilliant career.

Speaking to BT Sport, he said: "Now I can breathe, now I can relax!  It's a big relief to finish my career without a crash, I didn't feel great on the bike with the wind and the cold and when I knew I couldn't have the pace this weekend, when I understand I can't be quicker, I just tried to finish without crashing. 

"I spent my life traveling, sacrificing, training, feeling pressure to get results, I have many, many beautiful moments but also hard moments and a lot of discipline during my life.

"Now I just want to go on holiday. I will see what happens in a month, two months of holiday then when I'm home plan my next chapter. 

"Life is very open, there are many things to do. I love obviously to travel, to eat, to sleep, to party, just enjoy life. There is only one life, I'm just here to enjoy it.

"As I told you there are a lot of things in life, I'm open to any possibility, that [test riding] could be a possibility but I'm not close to that."

Lorenzo has many fond memories on the bike but counts the 2015 title win when he pipped Valentino Rossi to glory as his greatest achievement.

"Obviously, 2010 [was special] because I made a record of points, it was almost the perfect season," he added. "Apart from this I will remark 2015 because there was a lot of pressure. Valentino had to finish fourth, it happened, I won by three points."

Teammate and compatriot Marc Marquez – who rounded off another memorable title-winning campaign with victory in Valencia – paid tribute to Lorenzo.

"I mean what we saw this year from Jorge is not the reality, of course [he will be] disappointed with the way he finished his career," he said. "I don't have in my mind this Jorge. Jorge is the one that was winning, a strong character, strong riding style. 

"I say all the best to him and for me he is one of the references in MotoGP and one of the references for the young kids."