Rennie Scaysbrook | April 8, 2018
Valentino Rossi Scolds Marc Marquez in post-race Argentina MotoGP interview—Valentino Rossi unleashed a tirade of abuse against reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez, after Marquez ran into Rossi late in a breathtaking Argentina MotoGP.
Marquez collides with Rossi late in the Argentina MotoGP race. Marquez’s riding caused a barrage of abuse from Rossi.
The impact caused Rossi to run onto the grass and ultimately lose the front of the #46 Movistar Yamaha, an incident that also saw Race Direction inflict a 30-second penalty to Marquez for dangerous riding—his third penalty of the race—which dropped Marquez to 18th at the finish on corrected time.
Rossi was unrelenting in his criticism of Marquez, who also connected with Aleix Espargaro earlier in the race.
“This is a very bad situation because he destroyed our sport because he don’t have any respect for his rivals, never,” Rossi said. “When you go 300 kilometers per hour on the track, you have to have a respect for your rival, you have to be strong, you have to make the maximum, but like this [it] is over.”
Valentino Rossi Scolds Marc Marquez in post-race Argentina MotoGP interview
Rossi even went as far as saying Marquez deliberately tries to make his competitors crash, saying, “If you take for example what’s happened this weekend—one by one, can happen, can happen to everybody, you can make a mistake in braking, you can touch the other guy, happens, this is racing. But from Friday morning, he make like this with (Maverick) Vinales, (Andrea) Dovizioso, he make like this with me in Saturday morning—and today in the race he go straight to four riders, because he do (it) purposely.
“It is not a mistake, because he points the leg, between the leg and the bike, because he knows he don’t crash but you crash—he hopes that you crash. So if you start to play like this, you raise the level to a very dangerous point. Because if all the riders race like this, without any respect for the rivals, this is a very dangerous sport and (it will) finish in a bad way.”
Valentino Rossi slides off after the hit from Marquez.
Rossi Scared To Be On Track With Marquez
Rossi said towards the conclusion of the MotoGP pitlane interview with the world’s media that he was scared to be on the same track as Marquez.
“I’m scared, I’m scared on the track when I am with Marquez,” Rossi said. “I’m scared today when I look, I see his name on the board because I know that he come to me, I know already. So you have to think, to hope that you don’t crash.”
Marquez responded in his post-race debriefing, saying, “In my career, I never, never, never do I go straight to another rider, think that they will crash. Always, I try to avoid (another rider crashing).
“Sometimes you overtake is more close, sometimes more clean, today what happened with Valentino was a mistake, a consequence of the track conditions because I lock the front but in my career, what he (Rossi) say, I think is wrong.
“I think the biggest mistake I did in the race was with Aleix (Espargaro) because I arrive four seconds faster and I didn’t realize. When you arrive four seconds faster than the other guys, it’s quite difficult and I didn’t realize. But I try my 100 percent to avoid the contact and then I say sorry. Ok, I see a penalty and I understand and I go back one position but even two because I didn’t know, and to be safe. And then I start to push again, and then the second thing was with Valentino, but then, I don’t think I make anything crazy.”
