Moto GP: Valentino
Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez
MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the
final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Márquez
off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Rossi
finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race
investigation. He later accused Márquez of "making me lose the
championship".
Honda's Dani Pedrosa
won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on
8 November.
Rossi
now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship. The Italian, whose
team Yamaha have said they will appeal the sanction, said Spain's Márquez
"rode only to cause me problems".
The
incident happened on lap 13 of 20 after Rossi had
gestured at Márquez following an overtaking move.
"Unfortunately,
I lost a lot of time with Marc," the Italian explained. "And in turn
14, I tried to go a bit wide to take a better line and make him slow. "He
came to me and I think he crashed in that moment. His handlebar touched my foot
and my foot slipped off, a bike can't crash only with a touch.
"He
has won his fight, he made me lose the championship."
But
Spaniard Lorenzo had called for Rossi to be punished, adding: "It's clear
that he took Márquez off."
Before
the race Rossi, 36, accused Márquez of deliberately trying to impede him
during the Australian Grand Prix on 18 October in order to help Lorenzo. "Márquez
did not play with both of us, he played only with me," Rossi said. "He
isn't playing fair. He would prefer Lorenzo to win. He is angry at me for a
personal matter."
MotoGP
race director Mike Webb said: "It's irresponsible riding causing a crash
and for that we have imposed three penalties points on Rossi."
Rossi's
lead means he will definitely win the title if he can finish in the top two in
Malaysia, while Lorenzo must finish at least eighth to have any chance of
depriving him.
Rossi
is seeking his seventh MotoGP title, while 28-year-old Lorenzo is trying to win
his third.
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