He’s the only man to beat Marquez
Lorenzo is still the only rider on the grid to beat Marc Marquez in a championship battle when he took the title in 2015. Honda also know that Lorenzo and Ducati would have been a force to be reckoned with in 2019 with some ominous signs in 2018 that the bike had finally been adapted to suit his style. Poaching him from them (or from a rumoured return to Yamaha with the Petronas team) might have the effect of bringing a race winner into the team, but it also has the benefit of stopping another manufacturer benefitting from his undoubted talents.