‘This could motivate Rossi even more’ warns boss Lin Jarvis
Yamaha Racing managing director Lin Jarvis took great pains not to defend the actions of Valentino Rossi at Sepang and, as expected, laid the blame at the feet of Marquez for messing up Rossi’s race.
Jarvis said that although it was a serious incident, no-one was hurt and he also warned that Rossi could come back at Valencia even more determined than ever as he takes up his slot at the back of the grid. “The worst scenario is if someone can’t race again, so today is not the worst scenario. If you analyse the race in detail and study every move of Marc’s, none of them were illegal in any way – but I think you have to see the bigger picture and question the motivation of the style of his race and the attempt to clearly disturb Valentino to the maximum,” said Jarvis.
“That finally resulted in an overflow of frustration from Valentino, that resulted in a boiling over. He made a move, an incorrect move, that took Marc out towards the side of the track. Unfortunately Marc tried to turn in, hit the leg, and that caused him to fall off.
“I’m very sad that that incident resulted in the crash of another rider. Valentino was found the one in the race that did a manoeuver that was not legal, and that’s why finally he was the one who was penalised. He was initially given a penalty of three points, which when you add it together with the one he already has means he will start from the back of the grid.
“Our job as a team is to protect the interests of our riders, so while we cannot deny that Valentino’s move is the sort of move that we want to see in MotoGP, at the same time we feel the penalty is quite harsh, especially when Valentino is not normally a dirty rider. He’s not a rider that creates issues or problems for other people.
“As a team, we appealed to the FIM and the first decision of the race control. They heard him, also consulted race direction, consulted Marc Marquez and Honda, and finally after a period of forty five minutes we have the results of the appeal, which was rejected.
“The original penalty of three points against Valentino stands, and in the process of appealing, if the FIM steward rejects your appeal and agrees with the original decision, it is no longer appealable – it becomes final. It’s case closed.
That means now that Valentino Rossi will go to Valencia with this penalty.
“I think that the three points not being enough is Jorge’s personal opinion, and everyone can have their own opinion. But it’s not his job to decide the rules of the FIM world championship. It’s not my job either – that’s the job of the race stewards. It’s his opinion, and that’s all I can say.
“Every incident is different, and if race control were to take a rash decision, without fully analysing the footage like they did in the end, by asking Marquez, by asking Rossi – you cannot take that decision in a flash.
“Well, you can, but you stand the risk of making a major mistake – and if that major decision is going to have a major effect on the championship, it’s better to take some time.
“It’s not only what I have seen, it’s also what Valentino explained. I think the images back it up. A kick is an aggressive forwards motion, but in this case his foot went backwards. Valentino said he was touched, his leg went off the foot rest and flicked out. I don’t think it’s very wise to try and kick a 157kg RCV!
“I’m not defending the actions – and that’s why he received the penalty. It was judged that it was a move not in the spirit of the rules of racing.
“There are always many different ways of addressing a problem, and perhaps that’s what provoked Marc into being quite aggressive on the track. I don’t know. You’d need to ask Marc about that. Every action has a consequence. That’s life!
“If anything, knowing him, this will probably make him more motivated to come back and to try to do another memorable season like this. And the championship isn’t over - you have to keep that in mind.
He has a seven-point lead, and while he’s at a massive disadvantage starting from the back, in racing anything can happen. “You never know if he can salvage something. Anything can happen. I’ve been to Valencia before where I was dead sure Valentino was going to win the championship and he didn’t because something happened – something uncontrollable.
MotoGP is highly competitive, and while it gives Jorge a lot more chance to win, he still has a seven point deficit.”
Rossi & Marquez come together at the #MalaysianGP, resulting in Marquez crashing out.
![[Image: motogplogo.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/motogplogo.jpg)