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How Rossi's mind games backfired

Valentino Rossi's attempts to get a psychological advantage over Marc Marquez kicked off a furore on a scale even MotoGP had not experienced before. GLENN FREEMAN analyses the war

When Valentino Rossi tried to 'unmask' Marc Marquez for interfering in the MotoGP title battle between Rossi and his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, there were two schools of thought.

In many quarters, Rossi's surprising barb ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix was lauded as a masterstroke - the wily veteran waging tactical warfare on the upstart (already a two-time MotoGP champion, remember) he has had on-track run-ins with through the year, almost always coming out on top, it must be said. But there was another side to this coin, one that was dismissed in the run-up to the Malaysian Grand Prix.

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