Marc Marquez told to apologise a decade after notorious Valentino Rossi clash

Former Italian MotoGP rider Loris Reggiani says Marc Marquez should make “an apology to motorcycling and its fans” in remarks made about his 2015 fallout with Valentino Rossi.

A decade on from the controversial conclusion to the 2015 season, in which Valentino Rossi accused Marc Marquez of conspiring to sabotage his title hopes, debate over it still rages.

Rossi perceived this to be the case due to a fluctuation in Marquez’s lap times during the Australian Grand Prix - a race which the latter won, ahead of Rossi’s title rival Jorge Lorenzo.

This fallout led to Rossi and Marquez colliding during the Malaysian Grand Prix, for which the former was sent to the back of the grid for the Valencia finale having accumulated enough penalty points for this punishment under the system used at the time.

Rossi would lose the 2015 title to Lorenzo, with the seven-time champion repeatedly claiming to this day that Marquez robbed him of the crown - a conspiracy that has also been adopted by some fans.

Marquez continues to be booed by a small section of fans at Italian MotoGP rounds, something Ducati hit back against earlier this year at Mugello.

Marc Marquez told to apologise by ex-MotoGP rider

In an interview with Fanpage, Loris Reggiani - who competed in the premier class in 1994 and 1995 without scoring a podium - insisted Marquez should apologise.

Reggiani, it's worth noting, doesn’t specify what Marquez should apologise for.

“I was also a fan of his,” he began.

“In fact, I preferred him to Valentino. I really liked that this young man had arrived in MotoGP and had put everyone in their place with his incredible talent.

“And that remains, it's impossible not to recognise it, but Marquez the man has lost a lot.

“I believe [if] they boo him, he should just apologise, even 10 years later. An apology to motorcycling and his fans.”

In the same interview, Reggiani believes Rossi deserved the 2015 title over Lorenzo.

“He [Rossi] had been in the lead from the first to the penultimate race,” he added.

“Lorenzo won more, but Rossi was more consistent.

“And Jorge lent himself a bit to this game, saying it even after Valencia.

“If those last three races hadn't happened, or if they had gone as they should, I'm convinced that Rossi would have won the title at the age of 36.”