I made peace in my rivalry, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez “will also stop”

Former MotoGP star Loris Capirossi believes the bitter feud between Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez will eventually fade, just as time helped heal his own rift with Tetsuya Harada.

Capirossi, Harada and Rossi all raced for Aprilia during the 1998 Moto2 season, with the first-named taking a four-point lead into the final round of the season in Argentina.

Capirossi started the last lap of the race in the lead, but made a mistake that dropped to third behind Rossi and Harada, setting the stage for one of the most controversial finales in motorcycle racing history.

Heading into the final corner, Harada left the door open for Capirossi, but the Italian couldn’t pull off a clean move and crashed directly into his rival.

The impact left Harada on the ground, while Capirossi managed to stay on the bike and finish second behind Rossi to clinch his maiden crown.

The FIM initially stripped him off the points he scored in Argentina, but it didn’t affect the final championship order and Capirossi even managed to overturn the ruling in a court.

Even Aprilia wasn’t happy with his actions and pulled the plug on his 1999 contract, but Capirossi turned the tables again by taking legal action, securing a €2 million payout.

Recalling the incident, the 52-year-old said that while the crash had strained his relationship with 1993 champion Harada, he now considers the Japanese rider as his friend.

“Obviously as soon as I got on the saddle I immediately had a photo taken and sent it to Tetsuya,” he told MOW.

“Today we are great friends. There was a strong rivalry and the story is well known, but time always puts everything back in place when you stop racing and you are no longer opponents, but former colleagues.”

Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez told time can heal all wounds

Capirossi, who went on to score nine race wins in the premier class, believes his own experience gives him hope that Marquez and Rossi will eventually leave their rivalry behind.

He also pointed to Rossi’s improved relationships with other riders after they retired, with the nine-time world champion recently sharing an embrace with former Ducati and Honda rival Casey Stoner on the starting grid for the Austrian GP.

“I think they [Rossi and Marquez] will also stop it over time. They will have to stop sooner or later, or at least I hope so.

“Look with Casey Stoner or Jorge Lorenzo himself: Valentino has also invited them to the Ranch and now it's all behind him. There is esteem, there is friendship, there is respect and there is the proud memory of what it was. 

“Ditto also with Max Biaggi, now both joke about their rivalry in the various interviews they give. Time always makes everything right when you don't race anymore and I think, indeed I hope so, that the same will happen between Vale and Marc.

“Of course, the comparison cannot be the bond that exists between me and Harada, because today we are true friends who hang out, who go out together. A beautiful friendship was born even between families and everything was facilitated by the fact that we are practically neighbors.

“Well, maybe it won't be like that, but time eases all tension.”