Marco Bezzecchi
Valentino Rossi attends MotoGP races selectively, but the VR46 boss did make the trip to the Austrian GP in August. At one point, just before the Sprint, he crossed paths with Marc Marquez in the pit lane.
Marquez and Rossi didn’t acknowledge one another at all, which inevitably meant that the clip went viral. The Spaniard maintained afterwards that he didn’t see his former nemesis.
Rossi retired at the end of the 2021 season, but he and Marquez are still not on speaking terms. Their relationship may never recover from their explosive fallout at the end of 2015.
When will Marc Marquez beat Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP records?
The Doctor alleged that Marquez was trying to sabotage his title chances and help Jorge Lorenzo instead. The tension culminated in an apparent ‘kick’ from Rossi towards the #93 Honda during the Malaysian GP.
It would take a ‘miracle’ for Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi to make up
Veteran MotoGP doctor Claudio Marcello Costa, who treated both riders, spoke to MOW about their relationship. He says everyone in the sport ‘dreams’ of seeing them reconcile, but highly doubts it will happen.
Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi wants Rossi to reach out to Marquez. ‘As a lover of motorcycling’, it pains him to see the two legends at odds.
MotoGP’s official channels recently released a documentary about the 2015 Malaysian GP, which suggests that Liberty Media will try to use the lasting rivalry to generate further interest in the sport.
Will Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez ever speak to each other again?
“The truth is that it’s everyone’s dream, including mine, because forgiveness is the highest exercise of the human soul,” Costa said. “My story certainly tells me that I believe in miracles, but I’d say, in this case, that I only believe in possible miracles.
“I hope that Marc and Valentino, the two immense and unreachable modern legends of this sport, can one day clear the air and embrace each other, but for now it’s a dream. I don’t think it will happen, and certainly not anytime soon.”
Marquez gave a cold response when asked about his relationship with Rossi earlier this year, insisting that the two riders don’t ‘need’ each other.
Valentino Rossi called Dr Costa his ‘guardian angel’
Rossi formed a bond with Costa during his racing career, partly stemming from a 1982 accident involving his father. Costa was credited with saving Graziano Rossi’s life on the scene of the Imola crash.
Nearly 30 years later (2010), Costa helped Valentino return within six weeks of breaking his leg at Mugello. Rossi called him his ‘guardian angel’.
Costa had long retired by the time Marquez fractured his arm at the start of the 2020 season. After undergoing four surgeries, the Ant of Cervera completed one of sport’s great comebacks this year.
Marquez equalled Rossi’s haul of seven premier-class championships and is likely to overtake him in 2026.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
