The moment Valentino Rossi was left so ‘angry’ by controversial penalty at the ‘beautiful’ 2004 Qatar Grand Prix

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MotoGP returns to the Lusail International Circuit this weekend for the Qatar Grand Prix. The event has been on the calendar since 2004.

The inaugural running of the Qatar Grand Prix came at a time when Valentino Rossi was at his absolute best in MotoGP.

Riding with Yamaha, the Italian was already a three-time champion and would go on to grab his fourth in 2004. Rossi won the final three races of the season to claim the championship over Sele Gibernau.

This run came after controversy in Qatar. Heading into the race, Rossi had a 39-point lead and would qualify in eighth after displaying strong pace all weekend.

However, unbeknownst to him when he arrived at the track on Sunday, the Yamaha rider was sent to the back of the grid for the race.

Valentino Rossi was left ‘quite angry’ after being sent to the back for cleaning his grid slot at 2004 Qatar GP

Sand and dust was, and still is, an issue in Qatar and Yamaha wanted to have as strong of a start as possible. As a result, the team attempted to clean Rossi’s grid slot by applying rubber from doing burnouts on a scooter.

While Rossi was not directly involved, his team were reported by their rivals. Subsequently, he was handed a six-second penalty to his qualifying time and lined up 23rd next to Max Biaggi – who was also penalised for illegal grid cleaning.

Rossi fought up to sixth in the race but crashed out on lap five while fighting for a podium. Gibernau won his ninth and final MotoGP race that weekend, in a Grand Prix Alessio Salucci described as ‘beautiful.’

Speaking via the #ZamTube YouTube channel, the Italian, now working for close friend Rossi’s VR46 team, recalled the events of the 2004 race.

“I remember the scene on the grid, it was beautiful,” he said. “That is, we were practically next to each other with one of our historic rivals. We were looking at each other in a surreal situation because they were looking at us to say: ‘Why are we here?’ and he was also quite angry.

“We arrive in the paddock like how we always arrived, like eight in the morning on Sunday. We park the car in the MotoGP parking, we go down with our two backpacks all nice and calm because we had a good pace.

“Anyway we were charged for the race and at that moment Daniele Ridolfi arrives and he says to us: ‘Oh but what have you done to start last?’

“I remember I stop, I look at him, Vale instead he continues to walk as if to say: ‘What is this guy saying?’

“No look, you start last’ and then the second time Vale tells us he stops. ‘Because you got a disqualification’, he knew we didn’t know either, Davide Brivio knew it.

“One of the most beautiful races for me, Vale unfortunately ended badly because he asked a bit too much of physics!”

READ MORE: Which MotoGP riders do well at the Grand Prix of Qatar with Maverick Vinales successful at Lusail

Valentino Rossi is set to make an appearance at the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend

In the present day, the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix is set to be an exciting affair. The championship race is on after Francesco Bagnaia claimed his first win of the season in Austin.

A product of Rossi’s VR46 academy, the Ducati rider is now 12 points behind championship leader Alex Marquez. He is looking to close the gap to his teammate Marc Marquez, who is 11 points up the road after winning the first five races of the season.

The Spaniard crashed on lap nine in Austin after he ran too high on the wet curb at turn four. Bagnaia suspected Marquez would crash after the 32-year-old did the same thing in 2024 with Gresini.

Rossi is set to attend the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend. Appearances from the MotoGP legend are rare nowadays, given his endurance racing exploits and that Rossi views his VR46 team as a business.

Bagnaia is excited by Rossi’s appearance at Lusail as he hopes for another strong weekend. The seven-time MotoGP champion will also want his team to put on a show after some solid performances thus far in 2025.