Dobro, da vidimo šta kažu kolege, bivše kolege i stari majstori...
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda): “It’s a bad incident for our sport. There are so many people that are watching us and these things shouldn’t happen. Valentino Rossi is one the greatest of this sport, he has many fans and many young people look at him as an example. Everyone can make a mistake. We need to understand exactly what happened.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati): “Marquez was racing for the podium, but also to disturb Rossi. Valentino’s reaction exceeded the limits and it is not what we want to see. I believe Marc was provoking him and Rossi fell into his trap. Rossi contributed to the rising tension [with his comments] on Thursday and we can say that their relationship is finally over. For sure, Marc was playing with Valentino, but he remained within the rules”.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati): “It’s a complicated and delicate situation and everyone has his own opinion, but for sure no one likes what happened. I think Marc was riding a bit too slow. You cannot go one second slower than the pace you had just a few hours before [in the warmup]. In my opinion, Marc had the potential to stay with Pedrosa and Lorenzo.”
Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Yamaha): “I saw the incident, and I don’t agree with it. It’s not something that should be allowed in MotoGP. It’s not a normal incident—knocking another rider down—and I have to follow what the Race Direction decided to do. We are all here to race and do the best possible. What Marquez decided to do against Valentino is up to him. We are 24 riders on the grid and we are allowed to do exactly what we want, even if we are not fighting for the championship.”
Pol Espargaro (Tech 3 Yamaha): “I can understand Rossi’s frustration with Marquez’s disturbing him, but you cannot touch a rider deliberately and raise the foot in that way. From one side, Marc was not playing fairly; he was playing with Rossi’s championship. On the other side, I’m surprised that a mature and experienced rider like Rossi could react like this. Valentino never did something like this before. Race Direction, the Safety Commission and IRTA (International Road Racing Teams Association) are there to evaluate incidents like this. Valencia will be an interesting race.”
Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Ducati): “It’s a very delicate situation and the stakes are really high. Using an image taken from football [soccer]: When a foul occurs, only the defender and the lineman know exactly what really happened.”
Casey Stoner
If anyone else had done what Valentino did we would have been black flagged immediately, no questions asked.
More from Stoner:
“There is a Massive difference between reckless riding and intentionally taking someone out.”
Carl Fogarty
Think if It was any other rider they would of been disqualified from the race for sure...
Ben Spies
There's no question @marcmarquez93 asked for it and there's no question that @ValeYellow46 took him out. Maybe didn't mean too but did....
More from Spies:
“Gonna be interesting. @marcmarquez93 asked for it the whole race and @ValeYellow46 intentionally gave it to him so both riders are at fault”.
“And yes I agree @marcmarquez93 should have been penalized for today as well. If people can’t understand that @marcmarquez93 was faster at PL and Sepang than @ValeYellow46, they’re crazy!”
Josh Brookes
MM was riding like a dick to block VR. VR gave him looks of warning & MM didn't accept. You try ride on outside & catch, it's what happens
More from Brookes:
“VR’s race was already penalized by having to deal with MM. Points should be left. Race Direction shouldn’t be deciding the championship.”
“Yes VR intentionally ran wide to make a statement…but MM had more options than the one he chose to take.”
“MM could’ve turned back & got up the inside but he stayed outside & continued to push on VR, then fell onto him, that dragged VR’s leg off.”
“I think we need to focus on the real crime here. Why was VR a gentleman for so long? He should have grassed him a lot earlier.”
Troy Bayliss
All I will say is 46 and 93 would not have been able to continue to race like that all race, I'm happy it happened at slow speed.
Jeremy McWilliams
My feedback initially started in favour of Marquez but soon turned totally in favour of Rossi (by a long way).
Colin Edwards
Ok, my opinion: MM is fighting for pride, not a championship. VR gets tired of MM's close racing.
Michael Laverty
Marc broke the unwritten rule, always RESPECT those fighting for a Championship when you're not. Vale got enraged and hung him out to dry.
Giacomo Agostini (told the Italian newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport, about the incident):
“Valentino fell into Marquez’s game that this time was smarter than him. He should have expected such a reaction: Marc had nothing to lose. They passed and re-passed each other thousands of times. You cannot fall into this trap, you cannot do this maneuver, going so wide, especially if you are Valentino Rossi. What happens in a racer’s mind in those moments? I’m convinced that Valentino was angry, exhausted and frustrated, but until that turn it had been a great fight. But Valentino was surprised. He is a great professional. In his place, I also would have been very angry with Marquez, who provoked and exasperated him.”
Agostini added: “If you look back, when it was about winning, Valentino has never been soft with his rivals, just think of Casey Stoner or Sete Gibernau. You cannot condemn a rider like Marquez who is putting up a show.”
Rossi “lost his head” during Marquez fight, says Agostini
15-time champion Agostini told Spanish publication AS: “I think that Valentino lost his head.
“He was very nervous, fighting for the title. I can understand that, but you cannot make a move like this.
“Everyone saw his actions: he nearly stops, looks at [Marc] and tells him to piss off.
“He’s a great champion who knows how to keep everything under control, but this time perhaps he was out of control.
