Last night the world witnessed one of the most unedifying spectacles that has ever been seen in sport, a 9 times World Champion using his bike as a weapon to crash a fellow competitor out of the race.
Rossi fans, and I have been one since first he started racing, are scrambling to find some, any, justification for his actions, some even laughably suggesting that it was Marquez who initiated the crash rather than the other way around.
I am, these days, a Marquez fan, as my readers already know but it is clear that any impartial read of the situation shows that Rossi, in a fit of anger and frustration, chose to lash out at Marquez for whatever reason he felt was justified. The preceding days had shown that Rossi was needling Marquez, his extraordinary outburst at the Thursday Press Conference catching everyone by surprise, his allegation that Marquez was trying to stop him from winning the championship by “helping” Lorenzo causing the assembled press gallery to scratch their collective heads and wonder just what he was up to.
If it was an attempt at mind games, for which Rossi has been famous over the years, he chose the wrong target and it exploded in his face spectacularly. It was as if Marquez thought, “OK, you don’t like me slowing you up, so let me show you just how good at it I am.” The old saying, “Be careful what you wish for..” comes to mind.
It was very clear that not only did Rossi cart Marquez wide but that he also took his foot off the footpeg and lashed out at Marquez’s bike. Millions of people watching on TV saw it clearly. “But, hang on,” some will be saying, “Didn’t Mike Webb, in the Race Direction Report, say that it wasn’t clear that Rossi had done so”? Yes, that is what he said and his comments, if not dishonest are, at best disingenuous. Webb is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand he has to enforce the rules but he also has the sport’s bosses, DORNA, both employing him and looking over his shoulder. I’m glad I’m not him. Either that, or he was watching a very poor video.
The reaction of the other parties involved is, however, the most telling factor. Immediately after the incident, the TV cameras showed the Yamaha pit and it was clear that they had just seen their hero have a massive brain fade. There was no anger against anyone, just stunned expressions. The crowd, who are notoriously pro-Rossi, fell silent and remained so for the rest of the race. On his slow-down lap, Rossi meekly half-raised his hand and was greeted with crickets. Then, instead of returning to the post-race press conference where he would have faced a barrage of questions from the assembled media, Rossi returned to his pit and said nothing (a breach of his contract, by the way)
Legions of MotoGp fans have been debating the issue since and it is clear from my random sample that many Rossi fans (myself included) feel betrayed and disappointed. We have been grudgingly allowing his previous indiscretions because he is, after all, the face of the game. But many fans have spoken out and said that no longer wish to be called Rossi fans. And this includes active and retired racers.
I have made my position clear. I have watched his career from the start and have been amazed by his skill, his dedication and the way that he has brought life back to what was a moribund competition. I no longer can support a rider who uses his race bike to settle a personal grudge on the track.
I am aware that I may lose followers by this position but, as the old baseball umpire said, “I calls ’em as I sees ’em.”
