Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez's last-corner battle at the Dutch TT left fans thrilled, but the riders with differing opinions regarding who deserved the victory.
Heading into the final chicane during Saturday's race at Assen, there was light contact between the pair as Marquez looked to pass Rossi and take the lead. Rossi stood his machine upright after the contact and went straight through the gravel rather than taking the corner, and rejoined the track ahead of Marquez, taking the chequered flag by a margin of 1.2 seconds.
Marquez believes that he was properly positioned to take the lead and that Rossi turned in on him and was only able to secure the victory by cutting the corner, a point that Rossi, not surprisingly, refutes
“I tried to give the maximum, because I know at the end the race would be decided at the last moment,” Rossi explained. “I did a fantastic penultimate lap, and I took some advantage. On the last lap I was good, but Marquez was able to recover.
“In the last chicane I brake hard and I enter, and after he came to me, but unfortunately I was already in the chicane and he pushed me to the outside, so I had to cut.
“Fortunately on the gravel I was able to keep control, I have very good experience in races on the gravel! And I won.”
However, Marquez remains firm on his point of view and believes that he deserved the race win.
"I feel that we won the race," said the Spaniard.
"I don't think anybody wanted the contact, but I think what I did was the perfect last chicane. When we had the contact we were already in the same position [side by side]. I was not back [from him]. I think he already saw me.
"What I know is I did the correct way because I didn't go outside the track."
Rossi went on to suggest that it was best to review the incident before making further assertions due to the difference in opinion regarding how the incident played out.
"Maybe it's better that we see the images another time as everybody has his own idea," said the Italian.
"My idea is that I was completely in front. I braked hard, I stayed in the centre and I was already into the first part [of the chicane] when he came onto me.vI just saw the tyre and he touched me on the elbow.vI wanted to make the chicane and I was on the line.
"Unfortunately his touch put me on the outside and I didn't have a chance to stay on the line.vWhen I went into the gravel my first reaction was to open the throttle because I didn't know if it was deep. I was lucky to control the bike.
"This is my version. We know his version."
For Marquez it appears to matter little what did or did not happen as the result would not change.
"For me it doesn't matter because he knows what happened and I know what happened," he asserted. "This race is already gone."
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