More than ten years after the most controversial episode in his rivalry with Marc Márquez, Valentino Rossi admitted that what happened at the Sepang circuit has still not been left in the past. The nine-time world champion said that the memory of the 2015 season continues to torment him.
“Márquez was fighting to make me lose, and he succeeded. It still hurts,” Rossi said on the television programme “Che Tempo Che Fa”, hosted by Fabio Fazio. The interview was given in connection with the release of his autobiography “Valentino Rossi: My Story”.
The incident between Rossi and Márquez took place on 25 October 2015 during the Malaysian Grand Prix. The two were battling for third place when, after several laps side by side, they made contact. Márquez fell, while Rossi continued the race and finished third.
The case remained controversial because of the tension that had preceded it between the two riders. Rossi claimed that Márquez had deliberately slowed his pace in order to interfere in the title fight between the Italian and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Márquez rejected that version, while the race stewards ruled that Rossi had caused the collision.
The penalty sent Rossi to the back of the starting grid in Valencia. He arrived for the decisive race on 8 November 2015 as the leader with a seven-point advantage over Lorenzo, but started from the back. The Italian fought his way up to fourth place, while Lorenzo won the race and claimed the title.
Rossi never won a tenth world title. He remained in MotoGP for six more seasons, finishing second behind Márquez in 2016 and third in 2018, but gradually lost ground in the overall standings. His career in the premier class ended at the end of 2021.
Rossi has nine world titles across all classes, seven of them in MotoGP. Márquez equalled his overall tally in 2025, when he won his seventh premier-class title. The Spaniard is competing for another championship trophy in 2026, which would put him ahead of the Italian legend in terms of total titles.
Although he no longer races a MotoGP bike, Rossi said he was not considering a comeback. “From the moment I crossed the finish line for the last time, that chapter was closed,” he said.