Valentino Rossi admits 2015 Marc Marquez controversy still hurts 11 years later
Rossi admits his scrap with Marquez still hurts (Credit: Red Bull Content Pool)
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Connor Andrews is Formula 1 and MotoGP writer for GPblog and various outlets. Having worked in motorsport for 15 years for leading companies, he has interviewed the sports biggest names and attended multiple Grands Prix.
Valentino Rossi has admitted that his infamous Malaysian Grand Prix scrap with Marc Marquez is still bothering him 11 years later.
The pair of motorsport legends collided in 2015 in Sepang, ending Rossi’s title chances in a battle against Jorge Lorenzo.
The incident still divides MotoGP fans, with half claiming Marquez slowed to damage Rossi’s race, and the other half arguing the young Spaniard was responding to Rossi’s mind games and that he was kicked off his bike.
Either way, the result was a back-of-the-grid penalty for Rossi in the final race in Valencia, handing Lorenzo the title, and the Italian legend would never win another.
Now, 11 years on, Marquez is on the brink of surpassing the Italian icon's total of nine world titles, and will almost certainly do so next time out in Portugal.
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Before that, though, Rossi has a new autobiography coming out, and has discussed his rivalry with the record-breaking Spaniard before its release.
Rossi accuses Marquez of deliberately costing him the 2015 title
A guest on the Italian TV show Che Tempo Che Fa, he said: "Everyone has their limits, some lower and some higher, but unfortunately, the 2015 story is even more absurd and infuriating because, in reality, Marquez wasn't fighting for the championship.
“He was only fighting to make me lose. And in the end, he succeeded. That's something that doesn't go away, something that still stings.
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“More than ten years have passed, but my state of mind when I think about it is the same as that night in Valencia. That worries me a little.
“Many times I look in the mirror and tell myself: 'Come on, let's not focus on the only World Cup we lost, but on all the others.' But that's how it is; that's sport. What you lose hurts much more than what you win."
“More than ten years have passed, but my state of mind when I think about it is the same as that night in Valencia. That worries me a little."- Valentino Rossi
Rossi continued racing for six more seasons, finishing runner-up to Marquez in 2016, third in 2018, and then a gradual drop down the order to retirement.
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Rossi reflects on retirement and why he continued racing
Reflecting on his decision to keep going, he said: "I probably should have quit a little earlier. But I've always loved racing; it's always given me immense pleasure.
“I've spoken with other drivers, with [Michael] Schumacher and with other motorcycle racers, for example, [Tory] Bayliss, an Australian Superbike rider.
“I remember that they had stopped racing for one reason or another, but I saw that they seemed a little regretful about their decision. They had some qualms. So I always thought: 'I'll race until I really can't anymore.'"
“Since the last time I crossed the finish line, it was truly a closed chapter. I've never thought about returning or riding a MotoGP bike again. It was like writing the word 'end' at the right moment.”
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