Sepang, Malaysia: MotoGP Post-Race Report
The 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix has gone down in the history books as one of the most controversial to have ever taken place! It ended with fans absolutely gobsmacked, upset, furious and in tears. Dani Pedrosa won the race with such an incredible amount of strength and focus. He explained to the media that at points in time he had to take deep breaths of air because he was so drained due to the hot humid temperatures and the demanding nature of the track. Jorge Lorenzo followed in second place in an impressive fashion and is very close to nailing Rossi’s chances of the title. Lorenzo tried to stay with Dani for the duration of the race but the Repsol Honda machinery was lightning fast. It was so hot out in the open and on track that Lorenzo looked absolutely exhausted after finishing. These riders are truly remarkable athletes.
For those who missed the race or this reliving it, it all started at turn fourteen. On one side of the coin you had Marc Marquez crash out of the race and on the other side Valentino Rossi the cause of that crash. There are numerous arguments about what happened on the track at turn fourteen that day and it is clear that Race Direction were correct in their analysis of the incident. The verdict states “rider #46 Valentino Rossi deliberately ran wide on Turn 14 in order to force another rider off line, resulting in contact causing the other rider to crash. This is considered to be irresponsible riding causing danger to other competitors and is therefore an infringement of Article 1.21.2 of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations.” As a result of the incident Rossi was awarded three penalty points and will start from the back of the grid at the Valencia Grand Prix as he has collectively accumulated four which imposes a restriction. Some may say that the penalty is harsh, others not harsh enough where Rossi should have been black-flagged and many more just upset with the Doctor after his actions.
The world watched on as he took the matter in to his own hands after Marc Marquez was considered to have been playing with Rossi. However, there is nothing in the regulations to state that what Marc was doing at that present moment was illegal. Marc stated in his press release that “at Turn 14 he passed me on the inside, I sat the bike up, he kept going straight ahead and I saw him looking at me. I didn’t know what to do. Then he kicked out at me, knocking my brake lever, and I crashed.” Marc passed Valentino without touching him and regained confidence lap after lap. It appeared that Rossi was not having a bar of this and made a calculated decision. It wasn’t the hand of god; it was the hand of GOAT. Since the matter has settled, Rossi has kind of admitted his wrong doing and right now the tension going to Valencia is at an all time high. Rossi’s words from the press release “I didn‘t want to make Marquez crash, but I had to do something because at that moment Jorge was already gone.” Right now the world of motorsport is still discussing the incident, as it will continue to be a talking point for an eternity. The riders have left Malaysia and are making their way home to then arrive in Valencia for the final round. What a season and what a championship!
Finally, in Moto2, Johann Zarco won the race after what was an eventful Moto3 race with Miguel Oliveira winning and Danny Kent having to compete for the title also in Valencia. This race was not shy of controversy either with people talking about team orders between the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 riders, Danny not going as fast as usual and other riders sandwiching him on the last lap to force his hand to show up at Valencia to win the title. Right now, the sport of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 is red hot with several final battles to come.
