HRC has released a question-and-answer session with HRC Executive VP Shuhei Nakamoto on the subject of the confrontation between Honda-mounted MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez and Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi at the Malaysian GP at Sepang International Circuit. As to be expected, Nakamoto sides with Marquez. However, there are also many useful insights into this Honda/HRC-provided “interview”.
Nakamoto: First of all, we would like to state that we believe it is very important to speak about the facts, not about assumptions. A fact is a fact and there is only one interpretation. Assumptions can be translated in different ways, depending on which side you are. For the good of our sport, we would like everybody to just consider the facts that occurred and these are clearly the following:
• Marc Marquez won the Australian GP, overtaking Jorge Lorenzo on the last lap, and therefore taking away 5 points from him in the Championship.
• On Thursday prior to the Malaysian GP in the Pre-Event Press Conference, Valentino Rossi accused Marc of racing against him in Phillip Island to help Jorge Lorenzo.
• In the Malaysian GP, Rossi intentionally pushed Marc out of the racing line which caused him to crash. Race Direction gave him a penalty for this action, confirmed by FIM.
As a matter of fact, the aforementioned topics are the only facts we can consider and comment upon, any other discussion would be based on assumptions. To speak about assumptions would only increase the negative atmosphere we are facing in this moment, but will not change the reality of what happened.”
Q: What is your opinion regarding the current situation after the Malaysian GP?
Nakamoto: We as HRC are very regretful this situation has been created. First of all, we would like to underline that Marc has been subject to an accusation with no evidence, after the Phillip Island race. Clearly, there are no grounds to support that he wanted to help any rider in the Championship battle, considering he pushed to win the race and did so. After reviewing the images further, you can clearly see Valentino and Marc shaking hands after the checkered flag in Australia, acknowledging a great and fair battle.
Q: Do you believe the battle in the Malaysian GP between Marc and Valentino is a result of Valentino’s accusation?
Nakamoto: We honestly don’t think this is the case. We all know Marc races at 100-percent all the time; it’s one of the reasons we all love him and he has so many fans around the world. Marc always pushes to the maximum to achieve the best result possible. He had a great battle in his career with many riders, and nobody complained about that. In Malaysia, we know that Marc was struggling at the beginning of the race with the full tank, as has happened several times this season. Also in Sepang, he made a mistake at the beginning of the race and this allowed Jorge to pass him. Then Valentino arrived and they began to fight for third place. The passes were extreme, but safe, from both riders. Two of the greatest champions we’ve seen battling together on track.
Q: Is it possible that Marc slowed down Valentino in those laps?
Nakamoto: The lap times they were doing were quite fast, clearly showing that there was no intention from Marc to slow down Valentino. In addition, after Marc crashed and Valentino had an open track in front of him, his lap times were no faster then during the battle with Marc. We believe, they were both pushing to the maximum. Both wanted third place and to try and catch up with Dani and Jorge, but of course this battle opened up a gap to the front two. This is racing and when you have two talents such as Marc and Valentino you can see a wonderful battle as we saw.
Q: Do you believe Valentino kicked Marc’s bike?
Nakamoto: It is clear that Valentino intentionally pushed Marc towards the outside of the track, which is out of the rules. Therefore, Marc had no other option other than to run wide. The data from Marc’s bike shows that even though he was picking up the bike trying to avoid contact with Valentino, his front brake lever suddenly received an impact that locked the front tyre, which is the reason for his crash. We believe that this pressure was a result of Rossi’s kick. The data acquisition from Marc’s bike is available if anybody from Dorna, the FIM, or media want to check.”
Q: Do you believe Marc is telling the truth when he says he wasn’t trying to slow down Valentino in Sepang?
Nakamoto: I know Marc well. He is a good guy, with strong and honest values. Marc was just trying to defend his position, as any rider would do, and we believe him 100-percent.
Q: What is your position on how Race Direction acted?
Nakamoto: We respect the decision of Race Direction and don’t want to pass judgement if the penalty they administered was right or wrong. However, we do believe there was enough evidence to allow them to take a decision during the race. It was not necessary to wait until the end.
Q: What do you think of Valentino’s appeal to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) against Race Direction and FIM’s decision?
Nakamoto: This is in his rights. We will respect the CAS decision.
Q: People say that it’s unfair that Marc battled with Valentino, as Marc is not fighting for the Championship, while Valentino is.
Nakamoto: This is racing! There were no comments or concerns after Dani fought with Valentino in Aragon and beat him, and also in Phillip Island with Iannone – nobody accused Andrea of trying to help one competitor more than the other. It’s been a difficult season and in Sepang Marc simply wanted to take the best result possible for him and his team, it’s not in his nature to settle for fourth place when there is a chance to fight for third. We should also look back to Motegi 2010 when Valentino was out of the race for the title but had a great battle with his teammate Jorge. After the race, when Jorge complained about Valentino being too aggressive and with no meaning as he was out of the Championship, Valentino commented: “I said to Yamaha, what do you expect from me, to arrive behind? If I know this I will stay at home.” We totally agree with Valentino’s approach and will always support our riders to achieve the best results possible.
Q: What is your opinion of Valentino in this moment?
Nakamoto: Valentino is the greatest ever champion of our sport. We believe he has done a great job this year, and if he wins the Championship he truly deserves it, as he has been consistent and very fast all year. The fact that he is 36 years old increases the respect for such a great champion. Having said that, we don’t understand his accusation related to the Phillip Island race and his maneuver in Sepang. We hope that Valentino will think it over and understand his mistake.
Q: What is your target for Valencia?
Nakamoto: As always, our target is to win! Our hope is that Marc and Dani can fight for the win. If they can finish first and second – it doesn’t matter for us which order – then we will be very happy. First of all, because we want to finish this season with the 4th win in a row, second because if they both are in front of Jorge and Valentino, their result will have no influence in the battle for the title and – finally – we hope everybody will understand that Honda riders race for the win and the pure competition, for nothing else.
QUOTE: ‘In the Malaysian GP, Rossi intentionally pushed Marc out of the racing line which caused him to crash.’
Still this drivel persists, despite video evidence.
Rossi forced Marquez wide, but gave enough room to avoid a crash. Marquez DELIBERATELY turned into Rossi, made deliberate contact and crashed. Whether Marquez crashed because his handlebar contacted Rossi or Rossi’s bike is totally irrelevant. What it relevant is that Marquez DELIBERATELY caused all contact.
Watch the videos. They all show Marquez deliberately turning into Rossi.
John, at this point blame has been affixed to Rossi by both Race Direction and Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis. It’s difficult to make the argument that RD and Javis are both wrong.
There is no way Rossi kicked Marquez’s brake lever, his foot was on the peg until Marquez knocked it off.
not to mention the guard mandated to be in place to prevent such an occurrence.
this nakamoto character makes me sick in my stomach. what a bunch of half-truths and lies!
actually race direction said marquez had been engaging in some questionable behavior that broke the spirit of the rules. rossi’s actions would not have been against the rules if marquez had not turned in to rossi and locked his own front wheel. rossi was slowing off the racing line and marquez crashed; correlation is not causation. marquez is a punk and always has been.
Again, Race Direction rules that Rossi broke the rules and Marquez did not. Lin Jarvis agreed with this assessment.
No one will know for sure, but I believe Rossi would have been sanctioned for his illegal riding even if Marquez had not crashed. However, the penalty would have likely been something like one Penalty Point, rather than three. Just a guess, of course.
oh, so “who ya gonna believe, race direction or your own lyin’ eyes?”
i saw what i saw and i’ve since seen what i’ve seen from many different angles. i saw the lap times from PI when marquez was slowing rossi and iannone. i saw marquez wave JG99 through like he was a matador. i saw MM93 deliberately engage with VR46 rather than clear off. i saw MM93 insert himself into the championship fight he could have/would have been part of if he had been intelligent and cool-headed enough to have settled for 20 or 16 points a few times earlier in the season. i have read where race direction stated that MM93 had been far from blameless. and i saw VR46 go wide in one corner after being harassed in an immature manner by a precocious brat. no, rossi is not blameless; he went wide. marquez, repsol/honda and lorenzo all come off looking much worse than valentino, though. the whole penalty points system exists because of the antics of marc
mayhem so to fall back on “race direction said it, i believe it and that
settles it” is a bit simplistic. if JL99 wins this championship it will be the most tainted ever. and all because marquez is not mature enough to handle being around other talented people. MM93 has been doing this stuff for years and the fact that dorna, repsol/honda and race direction have not stopped him leave them looking worse than VR46.
I just wish all the Rossi fan boys would slow down the footage and watch what actually happens. Marquez crashes because his front wheel suddenly locks up. It locks up because Rossi’s left knee slider suddenly hits his front brake lever! It’s quick and sudden and has no connection with the much-discussed ‘kick’ that occurs a few mini-seconds later. Watch and become wiser…
The lever guards are designed to work from a specific angle, they’re not intended to prevent the lever being knocked by a blow from below.
Forget Race Direction for a moment. One would think that Lin Jarvis acknowledging that Rossi broke the rules and deserves to be punished would be enough.
Sometimes, even when I think I’m right, I look at who I’m lined up against and reconsider my position rather than simply digging in my heels.
my eyes work just fine. i think i’ll use them rather than rely on the words of people with agendas i may be unaware of. many times people in high positions will make statements for political reasons rather than for factual accuracy. marquez’ history is one of bullying on track behavior, being an out of control hothead and an intolerance of others’ rights to track space. i haven’t said rossi should not be punished. he did something unusual on track and there was a crash involved; that is against the rules. absent an immature brat this is all a non-issue. marquez needs to modify his behavior starting now or have it pressed home to him that he will be forced to modify it in the near future. he’s going to hurt someone very badly as could have happened to his own teammate last year when he ran into pedrosa and severed a sensor wire to the rear wheel causing a wicked high side. i saw freddy spencer ram kenny roberts in sweden. freddy wasn’t as out of control as marquez, though.