Riding style has become a revived topic of conversation during MotoGP preseason testing, as the extreme lean angles and elbow-dragging riding of rookie Marc Marquez have captured eyeballs. Meanwhile, Cal Crutchlow is trying to reign in some of his wild-child riding style and keep the front wheel of his satellite Yamaha M1 closer to the ground to gain speed.

Jorge Lorenzo's riding style always has been described in abstract terms, such as "smooth" and "fast." But his traits rarely have been dissected like those of "king of the late brakers" Valentino Rossi, "stand on the gas earlier than anyone in the corners" Casey Stoner or "let the rear tire slide" Nick Hayden.

Lorenzo isn't the type to talk technique too much. But Rossi has seen enough of Lorenzo on track during preseason testing in his return to Yamaha to offer a detailed description of the fusion of tidy lines and aggressive corner speed into which Lorenzo dabs his paint brush.

"Jorge's style was already good for the M1, coming from 250, because the M1 is the bike most similar to the 250 two-stroke," Rossi said. "But it was very good because during last season he was able to improve his style to adapt more to the M1, and now he rides half-and-half, between a pure 250cc style and the Honda acceleration 'trick' (lifting the bike upright quickly to accelerate from corners) like Stoner.

"Jorge is in between. He makes less than Stoner and (Dani) Pedrosa in acceleration but has very good corner speed. He is a mix between the two styles."