Marquez rips open Rossi feud: “The way Valentino managed the end of 2015…”
Yamaha teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi took the MotoGP championship fight to the final round where Marquez’s involvement became the subject of controversy, and the source for a nasty rivalry which rumbles on.
Marquez arguably held off Rossi (who was fourth) from reaching second (which he needed to win the title), allowing Lorenzo to instead claim the title.
Marquez’s upcoming documentary on Amazon Prime - called Marc Marquez: ALL IN - features the Repsol Honda rider speaking candidly about his intentions in 2015.
"I don't openly admit it," he told GQ. “It's not that I didn't want to overtake [Lorenzo], but overtaking him meant taking a very big risk.
“What I openly recognize in the documentary, what I explain, is what I lived through those weeks.
“From there, whoever wants to see it black will see it black, and whoever wants to see it white will see it white, but whoever wants to put themselves in the situation of a 22-year-old boy who has lived through all that, will see it grey.
“That is, I have character, but don't touch me when you don't have to touch me because then it will be worse.
“People often ask me what I would change about 2015, and I think what would change is the way Valentino managed the end of the year.
“When you are not the fastest on the track, you look to mix things up to see what you can catch.”
Marquez and Rossi notoriously clashed at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang in one of the sport’s most iconic moments.
Marquez retired from the race after being knocked off his bike during a duel, and Rossi was punished by having to start at the back of the grid for the season-finale Valencia MotoGP, where he was seemingly held off by Marquez and denied the championship.
They had fought wheel-to-wheel all year and Rossi had accused Marquez of intentionally trying to thwart him, and aid Lorenzo’s title hopes.
Rossi recently reflected on 2015: “I missed the title twice at the last race of a season. That's why I think I deserved a 10th."
The legendary Italian retired with seven premier class titles. Marquez can equal that tally in 2023.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
