(Motorsport.com) – Valentino Rossi has lashed out at his MotoGP rival Marc Marquez in the aftermath of their Argentina clash, saying the reigning champion has “destroyed our sport”.
Rossi and Marquez, who have 11 premier-class titles between them, have enjoyed a famously fractious relationship as a result of a series of on-track controversies – and came to blows again in Sunday’s Termas de Rio Hondo race.

A late lunge from Marquez at the Turn 13 right-hander in the closing stages caused Rossi to crash on to the grass, and resulted in a 30-second penalty for the reigning champion.
In the aftermath, the Italian did not mince words when discussing Marquez, as he said the Spaniard’s actions were detrimental to MotoGP.

“This is a very bad situation, because he destroyed our sport, because he don’t have any respect for his rivals, never,” Rossi said.

“When you go 300 kilometres per hour on the track, you have to have a respect for your rival, you have to be strong, you have to make the maximum, but like this [it] is over.”
Rossi said Marquez – who prior to their collision was forced by race direction to cede position after a clash with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro – had been riding aggressively all throughout the Argentina weekend.

He went on to accuse the Honda rider of deliberately trying to get his rivals to crash.