MotoGP insiders have all been expecting this to happen. In case you missed the MotoGP race of Malaysia, Spain’s Marc Marquez drove his race to partially hamper nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi’s chances of catching Jorge Lorenzo who finished in P2. Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are tangled in a fierce battle for the MotoGP championship but Marquez is steadfast on helping his countrymen Lorenzo, which Rossi has alluded to in the media before the race.
According to Yamaha’s team principle Lin Jarvis, he believes that Marques’ continued unprofessional riding style made Rossi go over the edge and to that extend that the Italian wanted to send him a message.
But Jarvis insists you have to keep to total picture in sight. Though Marquez’s actions were not illegal, which is confirmed by the race officials, they should be taken into consideration. Upon close review Marquez’s riding style and motivation can only be construed as to wanting to disrupt Rossi’s race. Many view the Spaniard’s actions as a retaliation to Rossi’s warnings in the media.
Rossi analyzed Phillip Islands’ race and concluded that Marquez was out to hold him up. Jarvis concludes that though Rossi’s was at fault and correctly got penalized, one cannot elude the big picture which is the championship. Marquez was definately riding slower in an attempt to give his fellow countrymen Lorenzo the biggest chance to secure points over Rossi. The Marquez-Rossi clash (provocation) continued for quite a few laps until Rossi nudged Marquez who immediately fell down. And instead of getting up and continuing the race he simply rode to the pits and quit. To watch the incident, click here.
Having been a fan of Valentino Rossi for a very long time, I must say I never expected him to be the kind of rider to send someone off. However, having seen what Marquez was doing, I can imagine that you’d want to put an end to the disturbance so that you can carry on with your race. That’s the way it should be.
Race director Mike Webb gave Rossi three penalty points and concluded, “Rossi certainly had some provocation. But, as I said to him, it doesn’t matter what the provocation is. You can’r react in a way that causes a rider to crash.” As it stands now, Rossi leads Lorenzo by seven points but will be staring at the next race last on the grid.
For a detailed look at what transpired during the race you’ll have to read the Timeline. To do this click here.
Source: MotoGP, RTL GP Magazine, Crashnet,
Photo credit: Tony Goldsmith
FULTROT Magazine 