Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez Almost Collide During San Marino Qualifying

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi and rising star, Marc Marquez have had an ongoing rivalry for the past few years. Everything kicked off from 2015 onwards and continues to this day, courtesy numerous on-track clashes.

Having been in the sport for so long, winning 9 championships, Valentino Rossi has accumulated a few rivalries. The feud with Spanish superstar Marc Marquez is just the latest one.

Most recently, the Italian and the Spaniard nearly collided with each other during the San Marino qualifying session. As a result, both riders were summoned to a MotoGP Stewards’ hearing at the Misano circuit.

Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez had both started their flying laps after running wide earlier in separate incidents. However, at the end of Q2 session, the pair came dangerously close to colliding after trading overtakes. As a result of their squabble, both their lap times got botched.

At the time, Marquez had been tailing Rossi before diving down the inside at the Curvone corner. Unfortunately, he ran wide on the exit and off track, so his lap time got deleted for exceeding track limits.

When Rossi got too close for comfort, where there were mere inches separating the bikes, the FIM stewards were not too impressed. The incident was almost a call-back to their clash during the 2015 Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang. That incident alone continues to divide fans to this day with both factions blaming the other

With both Rossi and Marquez failing to improve on their best laps in qualifying, Marquez was forced to settle for a fifth placed start. Meanwhile, the Monster Yamaha rider qualified in seventh place.

Also, amid the drama, Rossi’s team-mate Maverick Vinales claimed pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix. Lining up in 2nd was a visibly surprised Pol Espargaro on the Red Bull KTM. Petronas Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo completed the front row in 3rd.

Also, Marquez’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo will be starting well down the order in 18th. Lorenzo has been battling injury almost all season and has struggled to keep pace with Marquez.