The legendary feud between Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez has fueled conversations in the MotoGP paddock since 2015. Ten years later, it remains at the heart of discussions. Sports icon Casey Stoner recently shared his thoughts on this ongoing conflict, revealing never-before-seen perspectives on the Ducati Diaries podcast.
According to Stoner, Marc Marquez has, in a certain way, “ deserved » the criticism he faced. “ Marc Marquez, to some extent, deserved his criticism “, he said on crash.net. He explained that Marquez had attempted to interfere in the conflict initiated by
Rossi : « he tried to get in there.
»
However, Stoner sheds light on the true origin of this discord, pointing the finger Valentino Rossi. « Even though people blame Marc for the whole thing “, he clarified, “ they forget that
Valentino Rossi started it all.
Marc is Marc, we've seen him do this throughout his races, and then Valentino started a war of words. They were all friends and everything, and then Valentino started something, and then Marc fought back because he didn't like it. And then of course, everyone got on with it, forgetting that Valentino went to tease the bear. »
Casey Stoner :
« Valentino Rossi teased worst driver on the grid »
Stoner also criticizes the strategy of
Rossicalling it a major tactical error. “
if someone is riding aggressively and you know they are capable “, he declared, “ don't think you're above him, to scare him because you're not going to scare someone like Marc Marquez. So all he did, in a championship year
that he could have potentially won againit's literally teasing the worst driver on the grid: someone who can beat yousomeone who is
faster than youand someone who can potentially knock you out of a race or championship. »
The Australian also spoke of attempts to
Rossi to play mental games with
Marquezstrategies which had lost their effectiveness since the end of the 2000s. I think when Valentino was at his, he was able to
establish themselves in the minds of pilots who surrounded him, and I think he still believed that was what was happening “, he explained.
Eventually, Stoner stresses that the new generation has learned from these clashes, making the provocations of Rossi less impactful: we had learned his tricks, we had learned what he was capable of, and we had learned how to cope in this situation.
»
Despite this tumultuous rivalry, Stoner et
Rossi recently put aside their differences in a surprise appearance in Tavullia at
VR46 Ranchthus marking a reconciliation between the two MotoGP legends.
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