Defeated Valentino Rossi rages at Marc Marquez after missing out on MotoGP crown
Italian claims Spaniard Marquez helped countryman Jorge Lorenzo to title
Valentino Rossi went on a rant against Marc Marquez after falling short in his attempt to win another MotoGP title, accusing the Spaniard of ruining his championship chances by helping countryman Jorge Lorenzo in the final three races of the season.
Lorenzo won Sunday’s Valencia GP from pole position to clinch his third MotoGP title. Rossi needed to come second but couldn’t manage more than a fourth-place finish after starting from the back of the grid because of a penalty for kicking Marquez in the previous race.
While Lorenzo celebrated, Rossi was left complaining.
Today was embarrassing for everybody because it was unbelievable, the behaviour of Marquez is something very bad for everything, especially for the sport
The veteran Italian accused Marquez of not trying his best to compete with Lorenzo, saying his behaviour was “embarrassing” and the championship was not “won on the track.” Marquez said it was an “insult” to accuse him of not trying to win.
Rossi’s verbal attack after the chequered flag provided a fitting end to the season, which was already filled with controversy after the Italian forced Marquez to crash at the Malaysian GP two weeks ago.
“I think that the situation was already bad,” Rossi said. “But today was embarrassing for everybody because it was unbelievable, the behaviour of Marquez is something very bad for everything, especially for the sport.”