Rossi v Lorenzo: Who was right?

Is there a more unpredictable, more unmissable form of motorsport in 2016 than MotoGP? Moto3 runs it close, though does lose some points for Brad Binder's dominance at the front, but otherwise I am hard-pressed to think of a better product.

What looked like it might be another private party for Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo has erupted into eight different winners in the last eight fascinating races after Dani Pedrosa stormed to his first victory in nearly a year at Misano. Ordinarily, that would have been enough for one Sunday, but Lorenzo and Rossi brought us much, much more in the post-race press conference and brought another subplot into play.

You have probably seen the footage, or read what happened, as they disputed Rossi's early pass on Lorenzo for the lead. All the while, Pedrosa sat between them in the press conference, looking like a man who stepped into an elevator in which two people were accusing each other of farting.

Perhaps the only people feeling more uncomfortable in the situation were the top brass at Yamaha. Lorenzo is off to Ducati at the end of the season - in two months, basically - and what had recently been a quiet non-relationship between the Spaniard and Rossi was back in the headlines.

Things had actually been fairly civil since Rossi returned from Ducati in 2013, at least compared to their first three years as team-mates. That culminated in a wall being installed between their camps in 2010, so fierce was their animosity and rivalry as Lorenzo claimed his first title.

It was better this time, at least until the end of the 2015 season, when Lorenzo overhauled Rossi. Oh, and Rossi declared a very public war on Marquez for trying to help Lorenzo win the title, hurting his own tilt in the process. The innocent party out of the three, that Lorenzo's third - and perhaps best - MotoGP championship was overshadowed by the row will clearly have hurt.

Having Rossi and Lorenzo as team-mates is a delicate game. Even down to little details such as having a yellow chair for Rossi to sit on for his media debriefs in Yamaha hospitality and a red chair for Lorenzo. Most teams' riders sessions are back-to-back, split by five or maybe 10 minutes, no matter the relationship. But half an hour separates the Yamaha pair.

They share respect for the other as champion riders, but little more, so there is always going to be scope for flash points when they are both in the same place. Flash points such as an overtaking move for the lead that one rider felt was unnecessarily aggressive, which restarted a Yamaha civil war, for two minutes at least.

It is worth noting that Lorenzo, the rider who was passed, did not bring up Rossi's move at Turn 14 on the second lap unprompted. In fact, there was initially discussion about Pedrosa's aggressive move on Rossi at Turn 4, much closer to the end of the race. Rossi seemed OK about that, outwardly at least.

"At the end it's always a bit difficult," he said. "I know that he can attack me there because he was strong there, it was a little bit of a Marc Marquez overtake. When you are already in the corner and he arrives a bit in delay.

"Like last year in Aragon, Dani is always very strong with me and it's OK like this. This is racing, when you try for the victory at the end, it's not easy, everybody gives the maximum and I think it was a good overtake. Unfortunately it's not the other way. But it was OK."

Two questions later, it was time to discuss Rossi's move on Lorenzo. The Italian went first, and was fairly straightforward in his defence, suggesting that he simply wanted to get past and that it's hard to overtake at Misano.

Lorenzo started his answer by slyly noting that the topic would not have come up if the journalist asking the question did not think the pass was aggressive. He got as far saying "my opinion is that the overtake was maybe too aggressive, he didn't need to make this overtake. But, you know, it's his style. Other riders overtake more clean and I have to just..." before he noticed Rossi chuckling at the other end of the table.

After a pause, he challenged Rossi on his laughter and Rossi interjected. They went backwards and forwards over each other about 10 times. Rossi's laughter in particular appeared to grate Lorenzo, but during the exchange they both raised what were actually valid points.

Lorenzo is right that if he didn't pick up his Yamaha, there would have been at least one skittled M1 - his - on the outside of the corner. Rossi did, though, have to pick up his bike a bit when he was passed by Pedrosa.

Rossi is right that his battle with Marquez at Silverstone seven days earlier featured many similar overtaking moves, and that he did not complain after that. However, he probably needed to have some examples to hand if he wanted to return the 'you overtake aggressively' serve to Lorenzo, who promptly asked for proof Rossi could not provide.

Eventually Rossi stood down, making it clear he did not agree with his team-mate, and Lorenzo was able to finish his answer.

"For me, he didn't need to risk overtaking," Lorenzo surmised. "He was better today, he will pass me anyway sooner or later, but he didn't need to be so aggressive on me, I think. But anyway, he will have another opinion, of course."

Afterwards, they both retreated to the relative comfort of their native-language journalists. Lorenzo was unhappy that Rossi had spoken over him and got involved, but he could surely not have expected Rossi to sit six feet away and just listen to the accusation he was not a clean rider.

Pedrosa's moves on Marquez and Lorenzo were also made at Turn 14, but on softer tyres against riders holding tighter lines than the one used by Lorenzo on the second lap.

Rossi saw a gap and fired it down the inside much later but Lorenzo, having taken a very wide entry into the corner, still headed for an apex Rossi had claimed. Both, arguably, contributed to the close call.

None of the moves in question crossed that magical line into 'too far'. Yes, they were aggressive and opportunistic and required a level of cooperation from the other party. And as Rossi and Pedrosa said, it is relatively tough to overtake at Misano.

They will not miss each other next year, but have actually done well over the years to avoid collisions.

Maybe that changes from here. Maybe when Lorenzo rewatches the footage he maintains or strengthens his view that Rossi was overly aggressive. If that is the case, you would put money on Lorenzo not giving Rossi as much room if they are in a similar situation between now and the end of the year. Let alone next year, when they don't have to answer to the same boss.

When the dust settles, perhaps they will both view the exchange as mission accomplished. Lorenzo has drawn a line in the sand; Rossi will no doubt be amused that he got under his team-mate's skin, after overtaking and outracing him at Misano.

Two of the three biggest stars fighting is, of course, box office gold for MotoGP. We are in the middle of the magic run of different winners that somehow just keeps on growing, and includes three new race winners and two manufacturers ending long droughts. In stark contrast to the eight-from-eight of recent months, from the start of 2008 to the end of '15, just seven riders won races.

Rossi probably should have thwarted this streak with at least a couple of wins, wins that would mean the championship battle looks very different. He has been central to the on-track theatre, and now he's in the middle off-track, too, like he was last year with Marquez.

In a MotoGP.com interview he said that he was still paying for last year. Basically, at 37, these sorts of title battles take their toll, especially if you lose and especially if you also have to ride out a massive feud you have started.

It's hard to see Rossi v Lorenzo taking on a similar life this year - admittedly, though, on Sunday morning we wouldn't have entertained the notion at all. Rossi has kept his nose pretty clean this season, as you would expect. He has learned from the controversy he sparked last year. Perhaps he could have opted out of this one, but that is easier said than done when you are being criticised by someone you are sharing a table with.

On that basis, Lorenzo left him little choice. Lorenzo has a habit of not quite saying the right things at the right time, but he is always honest with what he is thinking. And having written this on motorsport needing more Cal Crutchlow-esque talkers I am not going to criticise Lorenzo for having an opinion and being willing to share it.

A reversal of what happened on track, Lorenzo was the aggressor in the press conference. While Rossi answered the question, Lorenzo had the time to consider what he wanted to say and he made it count, then stuck with it when his team-mate reacted. Lorenzo probably had the better of the exchange, even if his initial beef was perhaps an overreaction.

But it's hard to see any real upside for Lorenzo. There is a bit of teflon to Rossi in these sorts of situations. He'll generally get more than his share of support, even outside of Italy. Lorenzo has been around long enough to know that, but perhaps he just simply wanted to make a statement to Rossi that things will be different next time, or that he is ready to repay the favour, if that's where the line is.

And there's not a lot wrong with where Rossi put that line. Sure, it was a bold move against a team-mate, for the lead, on the second lap of a race. But it was no so bold - admittedly thanks to Lorenzo's actions - that they broke motorsport's main rule and crashed into each other.

But surely Lorenzo will look back at the tape and feel he could have been more alert to the fact that Rossi would be looking to get past. Or even, if he did know Rossi was coming through, not try to take the corner like it was his own. MotoGP is about fine margins, and perhaps Lorenzo is the one who would like another shot at that corner.

As for the exchange afterwards? You'd just about call it honours shared, one got to make a point, the other got to defend himself.

Let's hope there is a next time between Rossi and Lorenzo on track before the end of their time as Yamaha colleagues. Marquez has bolted in the championship so they are likely racing for second in the table, with Rossi currently 18 points up.

More importantly, though, they are racing for keeps. And it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.