Rossi snubs Marquez handshake amid continued feud

Valentino Rossi insists that he has no problem with Marc Marquez, but he would not shake hands to prove the point.

Published : Sep 06, 2018 23:35 IST

Marc Marquez with Valentino Rossi
Marc Marquez with Valentino Rossi
lightbox-info

Marc Marquez with Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi passed up the opportunity to end his feud with Marc Marquez on Thursday as he refused to shake his MotoGP rival's hand.

Rossi and Marquez have had a fractious relationship over the years as they have competed for the title, with their latest spat stemming from the Italian's claim in April that the world champion had intentionally caused him to crash at the Argentina Grand Prix.

Championship leader Marquez sought to put the issue to bed, earlier, this week, saying that he would like to "make peace", but when these comments were put to Rossi, ahead of the San Marino GP, he was not interested.

READ: Provisional MotoGP calendar unchanged for 2019

"Yeah, I heard this, but I don't know - it sounds to me a bit strange. In reality, we don't have any problem. I don't know why we have to make peace. For me, it's okay," Rossi told a news conference.

Despite these claims, Rossi did not, then, take the opportunity to shake Marquez's hand in front of the media - a gesture the two have shared previously - to leave the Spaniard bemused.

"It's nice and, of course, for me, it's no problem to shake hands. It's like this. What can I say? Already the second time. No problem, I will race the same," said Marquez before the snub.

Rossi is currently in second place in the standings, 59 points behind Marquez.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment