MotoGP Rivalries: Valentino Rossi

Since the start of Valentino Rossi’s career, he has been at the top of the sport. Being a nine-time world champion, Rossi has become a legend in the motorsports universe. Along with his brilliant and consistent performance over the years, the rider has been involved in some controversies as well. Be it the fellow countryman or his teammate, “The Doctor” has always fought his way to be at the top. Made for racing, Rossi is also amongst the best Monza Rally drivers and loves to go off-road on his dirt bikes. Here are a few on-track controversies that have kept him busy over the past years.

Valentino Rossi vs Max Biaggi

Rossi was achieving a lot at a young age but, challenging one of the best riders of that time, Max Biaggi was a big hurdle to overcome. It all started back in 2001 when Rossi was elbowed by his fellow Italian rider during an overtake maneuver at the Suzuka circuit. The very next lap, Rossi took his revenge by overtaking and making an unfriendly gesture to Biaggi while making a turn. Another incident which brought forward the unpleasant rivalry took place when both the Italian riders were engaged in a fistfight before the press conference and Biaggi was later seen with a scar on his face. Max Biaggi won some races but the junior Italian turned out to be the GP winner in the end. Biaggi finally left MotoGP in 2005 with Rossi winning the championship for the fifth consecutive time.

Watch their rivalry captured in the video

Valentino Rossi vs Jorge Lorenzo

Despite being teammates for so many years now, there has been a crucial rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Movistar Yamaha is the happiest team as both its riders are performing well for past few years now. But, sometimes Rossi and Lorenzo are at the top two spots and both need to end the race as a winner, making the team nervous as even the smallest error could lead to a total washout for them. However, at press conferences, both the riders say that they respect each other and are happy to be a part of the same team. This friendly clash of titans defines this era of MotoGP and is an ideal example of what every sport needs.

Watch the two legends battle it out in the video

Valentino Rossi vs Marc Marquez

The most recent controversy of the nine-time world champion came to light during the second last race of the previous season when Marc Marquez was supposedly preventing Rossi from winning the title. Rossi was topping the points table before the start of the race followed by his teammate, Jorge Lorenzo. Marc Marquez, third on the points table had no shot at the title but, Rossi claimed that he intentionally helped Lorenzo win the title. There were exchange of words, gestures like Rossi challenging Marquez on the track after an overtake, and later on a turn, things got ugly and resulted on Marc crashing out. It finally became one of the best MotoGP races of all time. For the final race, Rossi had to start from the end of the grid due to this controversy. Ultimately, Jorge Lorenzo won the championship with Rossi as the first runner-up. These two final races have set up a more interesting 2016 MotoGP season.

Watch the controversy here