Ten years ago, Valentino Rossi missed out on a tenth world title.

Ten years ago, Valentino Rossi missed his last chance to win a world championship in MotoGP, after what remains today one of the most controversial episodes of his career. That year, number 46 was riding for Yamaha, alongside Jorge Lorenzo. Their main rivals were the Honda factory team riders. On one side, the then two-time reigning world champion, Marc Márquez, and on the other, Dani Pedrosa.

And while Lorenzo ultimately took the title, history will primarily remember the fierce rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez throughout the season. This clash of egos between the two men somewhat altered the course of the championship. After incidents at Assen and Phillip Island, the penultimate round of the season determined the final outcome.

The Rossi-Márquez clash at Sepang

It was indeed the Malaysian Grand Prix that truly turned the tide of the championship in Jorge Lorenzo's favor. Arriving in Malaysia, Valentino Rossi still held an 11-point lead over his teammate and closest rival in the championship. However, he hadn't won a single Grand Prix since August at Silverstone, having been successively beaten by Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez of Honda, or by his own teammate.

As this event, the penultimate of the season, approached, the first two riders were already relegated to the background, and their hopes of the title were gone. The match would therefore be played out in two acts between the Yamaha riders. The first in Sepang (Malaysia), the second, during the championship finale, in Valencia (Spain). But in Valentino Rossi's mind, there was one more opponent in the equation. For the latter, the two-time reigning world champion, Marc Márquez, was ready to do anything to make him lose the title.

As previously explained, several races fueled their rivalry, but it was the Australian Grand Prix that truly ignited it. Held a week earlier, the race was logically won by Marc Márquez, after he overtook Jorge Lorenzo late in the race. But on his way to victory, the number 93 found himself battling with Valentino Rossi. The duel, which proved time-consuming for the Italian, led him to believe that Márquez had deliberately held him back to diminish his chances of winning the title.

It was in this context that the Malaysian Grand Prix began. Starting second and third on the grid, the two men engaged in a fierce duel, with positions changing with each lap. This game quickly irritated Valentino Rossi, who saw Jorge Lorenzo pull away in front of him. After seven laps, their battle went beyond limits. Valentino Rossi went wide at Turn 14, bringing Marc Márquez into his line. That's when the incident occurred. The Yamaha rider lightly kicked his rival. Enough to destabilize him and cause him to lose control of his Honda.

© Valentinorossi.com

Rossi penalized for the final

An incident that will cost Valentino Rossi three penalty points. However, the Doctor had already received a penalty point earlier in the year. In September, at Misano, he was penalized for riding abnormally slowly in qualifying, impeding a competitor's lap. With four penalty points already on his record, the result of Q2 at the Valencia Grand Prix – the scene of the championship finale between Rossi and Lorenzo – mattered little: the nine-time champion was condemned to start from the back of the grid.

This position, however, did not prevent him from making a spectacular comeback the following day. At the start, he quickly gained positions and then launched into a series of increasingly impressive overtakes. Nevertheless, Jorge Lorenzo and the Hondas pulled away ahead.

Finishing fourth, 19 seconds behind the leading trio who crossed the finish line less than six-tenths of a second apart, Valentino Rossi concluded his season with a score of 325 points, five fewer than his teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, who had just beaten Marc Márquez by a mere two-tenths of a second. The title thus slipped through his fingers.

Although he remained in MotoGP until the end of the 2021 season, the Italian never again had such an opportunity to clinch the tenth world title he so coveted. Today, that dream belongs to his rival, Marc Márquez, whose Ducati will offer him the chance to reach that pinnacle in 2026.

ALSO READ > 24 years ago, Valentino Rossi won his only 500cc title