Rossi: 'The behaviour of Marquez is very bad for the sport'

Rossi declares it's obvious Marquez and Lorenzo were in it together

Rossi: 'The behaviour of Marquez is very bad for the sport'

Rossi: 'The behaviour of Marquez is very bad for the sport'

VALENTINO Rossi has declared that Marc Marquez's behaviour was unacceptable at Valencia as he's been helping Jorge Lorenzo win the championship since Phillip Island.

The opening five laps of the last race of the season were arguably the best five laps of Rossi's career as he carved his way from the back of the field to reach fourth place in the hunt for his tenth world title. 

Rossi's Movistar Yamaha teammate Lorenzo had led from start to finish and despite Marquez being on the back wheel of Lorenzo for the majority of the race, he oddly didn't attempt to pass.

Marquez, however, does believe he tried to pass, but says he remained 'cautious'. 

With Rossi finishing fourth, Lorenzo's win meant he claimed his fifth world title. 

'We build this season from the first race and at the end it was a great season,' explained Rossi.

'I was always competitive and never make any mistakes. I think that after Motegi I have the potential to win the championship but unfortunately from the race in Phillip Island something changed and in these last three races we saw something that we never saw before in our sport.'

At Phillip Island Rossi made accusations that as Marquez was not fighting for the title, he was instead helping his Spanish compatriot Lorenzo win the championship despite not racing for the same team. 

Speaking about Marquez's involvement in the title battle, Rossi said: 'I think that the situation was already bad, but today was embarrassing for everybody because it was unbelievable, the behaviour of Marquez is something very bad for everything, especially for the sport.

'It is something that nobody expects, because a Honda rider that made a Yamaha rider win and give the maximum just to push out his teammate is something that nobody expects and I think it is very, very bad news. Anyway, it is like this, we have to accept.

'I am happy because now everybody see what I said in Australia and I don’t understand the behaviour of Marquez but sincerely for me it is very difficult to say something to him because I hope that he will understand what he did in these last three races in the future of his career.

The 36-year-old concluded: 'For sure the Hondas were faster. We know that in the second part of the race Honda have a better potential but Marquez just protect Lorenzo like he did in Phillip Island and also Sepang. At the end I think that also Lorenzo have to not be very happy, as it is not a championship that was won on track. But anyway is memories.'

Neither Lorenzo nor Marquez have commented in regards to Rossi's comments as of yet.

  • Sign up for Visordown's weekly newsletter, Bugsplat, to get the best motorcycle news, road tests and features plus exclusive competitions and offers direct to your inbox. Register as a Visordown member here and tick the box for Bugsplat in your newsletter settings here.

Sponsored Content