VIDEO: Valentino Rossi appeals MotoGP penalty for kicking rival off motorbike
Valentino Rossi has appealed against the decision to make him start the final MotoGP World Championship race of the season from the back of the grid for kicking rival Marc Marquez during the previous race.
The Movistar Yamaha rider was given three penalty points and demoted to last place on the grid for the Valencia race on November 8 after kicking the Repsol Honda rider during the race at Sepang in Malaysia.
Rossi went on to finish the race in third to hold a seven point lead over team-mate Jorge Lorenzo but was then given the penalty by the race direction, a decision which was endorsed by race stewards.
What's your view? Race direction will look at the incident between @marcmarquez93 and @ValeYellow46 after the race. https://t.co/XFCcpSM5bk
— MotoGP on TNT Sports (@motogpontnt) October 25, 2015
Should Lorenzo win in Valencia then Rossi would need to finish second to win his 10th world championship title.
The Italian has now appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to remove or reduce the penalty and also asked for a stay of execution on the decision. CAS is expected to rule on the stay of execution no later than November 6.
This is why MOTOGP is better than F1!
— Syed (@DrakesWriter1) October 25, 2015
There were 15 overtakes between @ValeYellow46 & @marcmarquez93 😮 #MalaysianGP https://t.co/YvycKrB8fL
After the Sepang race, which saw Rossi and reigning champion Marquez clash several times, the Italian accused his rival of “making me lose the championship”. Marquez crashed out of the race as a result of the incident.
A statement from the FIM, the sport’s governing body, read: “Mr Valentino Rossi has filed an appeal against the decision taken by the race direction of the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang, penultimate round of the FIM MotoGP Grand Prix World Championship, and confirmed by the FIM stewards, to award three penalty points to Mr Rossi following an incident on turn 14.
“In appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Mr Rossi seeks annulment or reduction of the penalty. He further requests stay of execution of the decision in accordance with Article R37 of the Code of Sports-Related Arbitration.”
