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Valentino Rossi in Valencia: revenge on Márquez?
By Günther Wiesinger - 31.10.2017 05:09
"Márquez says yes, he did nothing in 2015. I'll say the same thing, "grinned Valentino Rossi, when he was asked if he would meddle in the title fight at the final.
The ghosts of the past you never get rid of. Sometimes they sleep in hiding places, and one is inclined to believe that they no longer exist.
But often they come back to the daylight at an unexpected moment.
Let's go back to the crucial phase of the 2015 MotoGP season.
Two years ago Valentino Rossi scented a conspiracy, a «biscotto ». He told journalists the day before the first Malaysian GP training session that Lorenzo and Márquez had teamed up in Australia on Sunday before saying that the Honda star had not in the least resisted the overtaking maneuver of Rossi's then-team-mate Lorenzo. And thus the World Cup events influenced.
The rest is official.
Marc Márquez confirmed his innocence and three days later gave the answer on the racetrack. The race brought the famous "Sepang Clash".
Marc Márquez did not care at all about his chances to win, he let his teammate Dani Pedrosa in the race and drive away, but prevented Rossi by constant overtaking maneuvers in the pursuit of championship opponent Lorenzo.
At some point Rossi had had enough, the Italian Rossi lost his patience and nerves, he drove Márquez in a right turn so far out to the edge of the track until it slipped in the dirt and crashed.
Pedrosa won ahead of Lorenzo and Rossi, but Rossi got a penalty for irresponsible driving. At first he was even accused of helping Márquez to overthrow, but the film footage from the helicopter perspective provided no proof. The charge was not upheld.
Because of these four penalty points (Rossi had one at home in Misano, when he destroyed Lorenzo a fast lap), he had to start at the final in Valencia from the last position, he was only fourth - and Lorenzo with 330 to 225 points world champion.
Lorenzo triumphantly stuck his thumbs down on the podium in Sepang 2015, a gesture directed against his opponent and team-mate Rossi. A derailment.
And then Lorenzo openly demanded that Rossi be disqualified for third place because the four penalty points are too low a penalty. In any case, they meant the end of Rossi's title dream anyway.
With this action, Lorenzo built the future at Yamaha.
Four months later, his defiant transfer to Ducati was fact.
After last Sunday's Sepang GP, of course, the question was raised as to whether Valentino Rossi might now take revenge at this year's World Cup final in Valencia on 12 November.
A Spanish journalist sensed misfortune for the Valencia GP after Ducati had already teamed up to prevent the first Lorenzo win at the Desmosedici in Malaysia to keep the World Cup decision open.
But Rossi has long since buried the hatchet against Marc Márquez. One shook hands sometime in 2016, they respect each other again.
Nevertheless, Valentino could not resist a faint hint of cynicism. "What did Márquez do in Sepang two years ago? And in Phillip Island? Explain that to me! He always stressed that he did not do anything. So I will not do anything, "said Rossi on Sunday with a big grin.
"Joking aside. I'm going to race my own, as I've always done in my career, "added Rossi.
For Rossi, the Sepang episode of 2015 is past. He looks to the future, he is only fourth in the world and has to make his bike competitive for 2018. That is his primary goal.
In the title fight, he will not seriously interfere. If Andrea Dovizioso (21 points behind Márquez) does not win, the title is decided in favor of Márquez anyway. And with a Dovi victory, an eleventh place is enough to win the title.
"Also in Valencia, we can once again experience six, seven podium candidates. And I still have to improve, "said Rossi, who did not get past No. 7 in the rain in Malaysia.
The Movistar Yamaha factory driver and 115-time GP winner hopes for a dry race in Valencia. «In the dry FP3 on Saturday I felt good in Sepang on the M1. I also had a good lap in qualifying. But the M1 has not changed since Silverstone. Since then we only did fine tuning. And now we have to think very carefully about what the right decisions for the development of 2018 should look like. "
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Valentino Rossi in Valencia: Revanche an Márquez?/MotoGP SPEEDWEEK
