Marco Bezzecchi
It has been a whole decade since the last time Valentino Rossi had a genuine chance of winning a MotoGP title at the last race.
The Italian missed out on the 2015 crown by just five points, finishing fourth in the season finale, despite starting from the very back.
Since then, Rossi has vented his frustration multiple times, and it sparked the beginning of a bitter rivalry with Marc Marquez.
What should’ve been a heroic season for him and Yamaha ended up turning into a bit of a nightmare. It’s one that haunts him to this day.
Rossi won’t ‘forgive’ Marquez for his approach at the end of the campaign, when he had no realistic chance of winning the title, but chose to have an influence on proceedings.
At the time, Rossi felt Marquez’s tactics were ‘awful’ and designed exactly to bring him down. For fans, it was one of the most dramatic things they will ever watch.
Valentino Rossi said his fans wouldn’t ‘forget’ the end of the 2015 MotoGP season
At the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix, Rossi felt that Marquez was trying to hold him up on purpose and pushed him wide, resulting in him falling off his bike. Some felt as though he had kicked him.
Rossi’s leg kick ‘divided’ fans, and to this day, boos can be heard for both Marquez and Rossi at different events.
Speaking about the ordeal, which arguably cost him the chance to win one last title, Rossi warned in 2019 that his fans wouldn’t ‘forget’. Six years on, that remains true.
What do you make of Casey Stoner’s verdict on Valentino Rossi’s feud with Marc Marquez?
“During my career, I did something that remains inside of the people,” he told MotoGP’s YouTube channel. “Especially of my fans. For example, when I changed bike when I go to ride with Yamaha from Honda, or when I come back from Ducati to Yamaha and I restart to be competitive again.
“Or when I have the bad finish in 2015, when they make me lose the championship. All these things [my fans] don’t forget.”
Why MotoGP needs to have someone like Valentino Rossi around
With the exception of Marquez, MotoGP is lacking real characters currently. Francesco Bagnaia has struggled, Jorge Martin has been injured, and no one else is ready to step up.
Having someone that the fans adore is essential to keeping the championship growing after a few down years.
Pedro Acosta could be that next superstar, but he remains on a KTM bike, which isn’t capable of winning races.
Fans like to support winners, and when he starts doing that, he could be the perfect candidate, but for now, it remains to be seen who takes that place.
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