Jorge Lorenzo’s “shocked” memories of infamous Valentino Rossi/Marc Marquez clash

Jorge Lorenzo has recalled how “shocked” he was when he saw the clash between Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez in the infamous 2015 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix.

Marc Marquez nears his seventh premier class world title in 2025 after his latest win at the San Marino Grand Prix, which would see him equal Valentino Rossi’s tally.

This comes a decade on from the pair’s infamous clash at the Malaysian Grand Prix, triggering a bitter rivalry that persists to this day.

At the time, Rossi accused Marquez of deliberately trying to sabotage the Italian’s title chances, believing that several laps where he slowed down to cool his front tyre in the Australian Grand Prix that year as undeniable proof.

The pair then butted heads on track in the race at Sepang, with a duel for third place seeing repeated aggressive overtakes being dished out.

They eventually came together at Sepang’s penultimate corner, with Rossi appearing to kick Marquez. This has never been proven.

Rossi was handed a penalty point under an old system from the stewards, which brought his total for the season to four and earned him a back-of-the-grid start for the Valencia title-decider.

At the time, Dorna Sports came under flak from aggrieved Rossi fans, who claimed it was showing bias towards Jorge Lorenzo - who trailed Rossi by seven points after finishing second ahead of his Yamaha team-mate at Sepang.

In Valencia, Lorenzo ultimately won the championship as Rossi came through from last to fourth.

He refused to attend the awards gala that evening and has continued to perpetuate the conspiracy that he was robbed of the title by Marquez.

Jorge Lorenzo’s memories of MotoGP’s biggest fallout

In a new DAZN documentary, Lorenzo offered his memories of the race.

“It shocked me, because you’re not used to seeing one rider push another off the track so clearly,” he said.

“Then, there was the gesture you saw with the knee, whether it was a kick or not. But anyway, the knee moved, they touched and Marquez fell off.”

Lorenzo felt Rossi should have been disqualified from the race for the incident, though admits now he “acted like a footballer” in exaggerating his emotions.

“I didn’t remember that I left the podium early,” he added.

“I acted like a football player, who exaggerates as much as possible with gestures to defend his position.

“I was annoyed that Rossi wasn’t given a black flag, which would have hurt his points, because it would have already put me in the lead [of the standings].

“It’s true that Marquez tried to push him off his head and slow him down, but Valentino’s reaction at that corner was clear.

“He didn’t just try to overtake him; he tried to push him off the track, or at least off the line.”