Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Rossi: Row over Misano MotoGP move on Lorenzo has become a joke

Valentino Rossi says that if every overtaking move in MotoGP sparked as much debate as his on Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo at Misano, it would be the end of passing

Rossi and Lorenzo clashed after the San Marino Grand Prix when Lorenzo was asked about Rossi's move early in the race, which the Spaniard felt was unnecessarily aggressive.

Asked about it nearly a fortnight later on Thursday at Aragon, Lorenzo said he now felt more strongly about the pass, after watching the footage.

Is Rossi a villain or a hero?

Presented with a still from the overtake and asked to explain the move from his side, Rossi was bemused it was still a topic of discussion.

"For me, if we have to speak more than two weeks about this overtake, we waste our time. It's like a joke, I think, now," he said.

"It's very important where the other bike is, so when you overtake it's very important where you overtake, considering the corner.

"I overtook Lorenzo with all the bike, minimum 20 metres before the corner.

"If you see the image, it's very clear he sees me, but he expects that I'll go wide and he wants to cross my line, for that reason he makes [the situation] like this.

"But in reality he saw me 20 metres before.

"If we have to speak about this overtake we need to not overtake any more.

"So anyway, this is his idea, so in the press conference I tried to explain my point of view and talk with the team."

RELATIONSHIP BETTER THAN DARKEST DAYS

The Yamaha riders do not share a close relationship, but their second tenure as team-mates had been controversy-free until Rossi accused Marc Marquez of helping Lorenzo beat him to the title last year.

That had also died down before the Misano clash, but Rossi says their relationship is still better than in 2010, before he left for Ducati, when they had to be split in the Yamaha garage by a wall.

"Personally, the situation has changed from the last three races from last year, and is something that is never fixed. It's like this," he said.

"It's better than in 2009, 2010, because we are older, more mature, and we are professional riders, we are in the same team, we'd love to stay in this team. We know we have to work together.

"What's important is that your relationship or what you think, remains out of the track, remains out of the box, and you have to try to make the maximum always in a very professional way.

"After that, it's impossible to like each other if you don't like [each other]. It's like this."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Aragon MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa leads all-Honda top three in practice
Next article MotoGP riders to be fined for hand gestures as part of clampdown

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe