Rossi: My relationship with Marquez can never be recovered
Astro Arena
March 10, 2016 23:36 MYT
March 10, 2016 23:36 MYT
In a tussle with Marquez (right) during the race, Rossi (left) was adjudged to have purposely kicked the Spaniard off his bike and was handed a penalty which saw him start the season-ending round from last position on the grid. - Filepic
Valentino Rossi said his relationship with Marc Marquez can "never be recovered" following their incident at last year's Malaysian Grand Prix.
Yamaha's Rossi went into the penultimate round of the season in Sepang with an 11-point gap over team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as the two battled for the Moto GP world championship.
However, in a tussle with Honda's Marquez during the race, Rossi was adjudged to have purposely kicked the Spaniard off his bike and was handed a penalty which saw him start the season-ending round from last position on the grid.
Lorenzo went on to win the race in Valencia, with Rossi battling to finish fourth, but that was not enough to hold onto his championship lead and the former claimed a third MotoGP title by five points.
Rossi said he will "never forget" what happened as he missed out on the opportunity to win an eighth world championship.
"After last season, nothing will be the same," the Italian told Motosprint.
"But our fight will be more genuine. Everyone can see what he really thinks.
"I said I won't forget what he did. It would be hypocritical to say that it's over and shake his hand, because it's not true. I'll never forget what happened.
"It would have been better that Marc had continued to focus on his own races. His intentions were clear, with the icing on the cake being the Valencia race.
"However, now it is no longer relevant. After what happened, our relationship can never be recovered. I like to do real things, not to pretend."