Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/595371
CN III VOICES L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R "It is clear to me that Marquez was looking for contact and also looking to end Rossi's title chances." Rossi Versus Marquez Here is my two cents. While both riders were at fault here I think you must look at a rider's whole body of work. Valentino Rossi can fight with Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and all others and it is always a tough but clean fight. Marquez seems to always have contact be it Rossi or Lorenzo or others. After watching the replay several times it is clear to me that Marquez was looking for contact and also looking to end Rossi's title chances. Rossi wanted to get on with the race and try to chase down Lorenzo. Also, when Marquez went down he was looking for con- tact and he could have broke sooner and tried to go under Rossi. It is my opinion that Rossi took the action because at that point he thought it was him or me due to the previous actions of Marquez. It's a shame we don't get to see a straight fight between all these riders at the last race. David Conti What's the matter with Cycle News? I'm totally disappointed in you. Do you think if Rossi was planning on crashing Marquez he would have stared at him first? I'm pretty sure any MotoGP rider could knock you down and make it look like an accident. Rossi's not stupid. Messing with someone and crashing them (even if they deserve it) are two different things. Cycle News got it all wrong. They totally took sides— the wrong side. What ever hap- pened to unbiased reporting? Oh, I forgot, this is America. John Randolph Hearing a lot of prattle about the damage to Rossi's reputa- tion, but when it comes to bad judgement, Marquez and Webb get equal billing. The finale at Valencia should be dramatic, but how about some good rac- ing instead of bad theater? Tod Rafferty I have enjoyed Mr. Scott's writ- ing in the past, but his report on the GP drama was bad. A report on a race should be at least somewhat unbiased, and written with a fair attempt at accuracy. This had neither. I respect his opinion that Rossi has lost a lot more than this championship in this conflict, but it is just that, an opinion. The description of the whole leg/kick thing is very slanted: "…May have been caused by previous contact." Come on, Michael, at least look at the video of the race. It looks more like Marc turned into Rossi, causing the crash and knock- ing Rossi's foot off the peg. And, the whole tone of this report makes it seem as though poor little innocent Marquez is just a victim of bad old Rossi. Monte Phoenix How can [anyone] defend Rossi? Even if you think a rider is sandbagging (which I do not), a rider cannot kick or punch or ride wide so as to make other rider go off track. Rossi is clearly at fault here. Dave Brown Sorry, but I don't know who actually wrote the story on the Rossi vs. Marquez incident, but whoever it was didn't actually watch the race! It is clear from the overhead footage, that while Rossi may have slowed and let the bike drift wide, he did not stick out his foot or hit Marquez's bike. Richard T. Haight If Lorenzo wants to win the championship with any dignity, he will line up on the last row with Rossi in Valencia. Jeff Evans Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor P6