Valentino Rossi accuses Spanish rivals of helping Jorge Lorenzo
Friday 11 December 2015 09:33, UK
Valentino Rossi hit out at a Spanish 'stitch-up' after Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo won his third MotoGP world crown with victory in the final race of the season in Valencia.
The championship leader had fought back to fourth by half distance but his hopes of taking a 10th career title, and eighth in the top category, rested on Honda's two Spaniards getting past Lorenzo.
In the end, outgoing champion Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finished second and third and Rossi angrily accused them of helping their compatriot by not trying to win.
"I did what I could but it was a strange situation having Marquez as the bodyguard of Lorenzo. It is embarrassing for the sport," Rossi told reporters after former King Juan Carlos handed out the winner's trophy on an all-Spanish podium.
"Hopefully the sport's authorities will be able to sort it out. It is an ugly end to what has been an attractive championship. It has not been a true championship and this should not happen in sport," he added.
Rossi said Lorenzo was a deserving champion but he could not understand why Honda, his former team, should want to see a Yamaha rider win.
"It is something that nobody expects, because a Honda rider that made a Yamaha rider win and gave the maximum just to push out his team-mate is something that nobody expects and I think it is very, very bad news. Anyway, it is like this, we have to accept.
"I don't understand the behaviour of Marquez but sincerely for me it is very difficult to say something to him because I hope that he will understand what he did in these last three races in the future of his career.
"For sure, the Hondas were faster. We know that in the second part of the race Honda have a better potential but Marquez just protected Lorenzo like he did in Phillip Island and also Sepang (the two previous races).
"At the end I think that also Lorenzo have to not be very happy, as it is not a championship that was won on track."
Marquez said it was 'a lack of respect' to suggest he had not tried to win even if he recognised there would always be doubters.
"For me, for a rider with a winning mentality, telling people I did not want to win a race is an insult because whenever I go out I go to win and do the best job possible," he said.
Lorenzo, who ended the season with seven wins to Rossi's four and five points clear, suggested it was to be expected that his compatriots would rather see him win.
"The fact that they knew what I was going for and that they are Spanish has helped me and in another race they may have tried everything to overtake," said the new champion.
"Dani did well because he could have tried a crazy overtake. We are Spanish and the title remains in Spain. If it had been in Italy and with two Italians behind Rossi then it would have been the same."
The race had been overshadowed by controversy and bad blood since Malaysia, where Rossi allegedly kicked Marquez off his bike. Rossi denied that, accusing the Spaniard of trying to sabotage his title hopes.
A bid to persuade the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the back-of-grid penalty failed, although the appeal against the sanction remains in process.
The prime ministers and media of both countries got involved in the row, while Marquez and his family filed a legal complaint after allegedly being assaulted by Italian journalists.
The race itself was far more tame, with Lorenzo leading from start to finish while Rossi climbed as far as he could and then waited to see what happened with the top three too far ahead to catch.
The Italian finished 19.7 seconds behind the winner, who beat Marquez by a mere 0.2.
Among the cheers, whistles and boos could also be heard clearly as the top three made their way to the podium.
