Marco Bezzecchi
Valentino Rossi wasn’t short of rivals during his career in MotoGP. His feud with Max Biaggi was one of the first of many.
The tension between the two Italian icons was clear to see both on and off the track. Max Biaggi was already a four-time world champion in the 250cc category before Valentino Rossi emerged in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and the contest started from the very first race.
Several incidents, including physical exchanges and post-race confrontations, set the tone for a competitive relationship that lasted for years.
A similar level of intensity resurfaced later in Rossi’s career when his relationship with Marc Marquez deteriorated during the 2015 season.
The situation reached its peak at the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Rossi appeared to make contact with Marquez in what has been notoriously given the moniker of ‘the kick’.
The fallout created one of MotoGP’s most divisive moments and marked the beginning of a long-running disagreement between the two riders.
What do you make of Casey Stoner’s verdict on Valentino Rossi’s feud with Marc Marquez?
Valentino Rossi once recalled his heated clash with Max Biaggi 2001 Catalan Grand Prix
During an episode of the Mig Babol podcast from September 2024, Rossi recalled the three off-track events that defined his MotoGP rivalry with Biaggi.
The first was during a dinner with journalists, where they traded quips at each other, and the second involved a square-off in a Japanese elevator during a race weekend at Motegi.
However, the third was when things got more physical. The Doctor recalled, “In 2001, it was a real fight; he was competitive, and the Yamaha was going strong.
“At Suzuka, he tried to knock me out, I overtook him, flipped him the bird and won. We get to Barcelona, I’m on pole, but I get a bad start and touched with Criville. I was 15th, but I remounted and caught Biaggi.
“It was a fight to the death. Max was tough, but I was going faster and won. After, in parc ferme, I was in the room below the podium talking to Gibo, my manager.
“Biaggi came by and gave him a push and then a hand to the face, then he goes up the stairs to the podium. I ask him what he was doing, and he tells me to go up that there are some for me as well.
“He was really p—– off. We had half a scuffle, we didn’t really fight, then they pulled us off each other, and that was it.”
Valentino Rossi has shared rivalries with some of the best riders in MotoGP history
Rossi’s rivalry with Max Biaggi defined early-2000s MotoGP, but the iconic Italian rider shared a lot more during the rest of his successful tenure in the sport.
Casey Stoner’s introduction to the fold in 2006 also proved to be a thorn in Rossi’s side. The Australian hit the ground running in MotoGP and was able to get the better of the Italian rider during the 2007 season, where he managed to win Ducati’s first-ever riders’ championship.
Rossi and Stoner famously clashed at the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix, where the Ducati man dropped one of the all-time quotes after storming into the Yamaha garages following the chequered flag.
Jorge Lorenzo was another big rival of the Italian’s during his premier class career. The three-time world champion joined the factory Yamaha team as a rookie, and Rossi was not pleased about it.
Following his retirement from the sport, Lorenzo detailed his tension-filled relationship with Rossi at the Japanese constructor.
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