Marco Bezzecchi has called Marc Marquez “the dirtiest rider in MotoGP” and revealed that he visited him to demand an explanation for their clash in Valencia.
VR46 rider Bezzecchi saw his Valencia MotoGP season-finale come to a premature end due to contact from Marquez which left him irate.
Marquez, in his final race for Repsol Honda, also crashed out after he was clattered by Jorge Martin.
But the incident between Bezzecchi and Marquez left a particularly sour taste.
“I’m not going to waste my time with this character, so next,” Marquez told DAZN.
An angry Bezzecchi reacted to DAZN: “Marquez decided to end my race in the third corner.
“He did the same thing he did to me in Thailand. He hit me on the back. The problem is that this time he hit me much harder, and I hurt my shoulders and on my left foot.
“His style doesn’t deserve much explanation.
“They decided not to show the replay because the action was very dirty. It’s Marquez, so no one can touch him.
“They investigate, but they don’t do anything. The stewards never touch Marc. He is the dirtiest rider in MotoGP.
Bezzecchi went to Marquez’s motorhome after the race to seek an explanation for the manoeuvre which wiped him out, but was left unimpressed.
“I asked him why he decided to throw me and, as always, he pretended that he had not seen me,” Bezzecchi said.
“But with the blow he gave me, it is really, really difficult for him not to have seen me.
“It already hurt me even before I fell, from the blow he gave me on the back. But I know that, unfortunately, this is the case.
“There are riders who are a little more correct, riders a little less correct. I am one of those who does not complain about fights, even if I want to when another comes towards me.
“In Thailand, in fact, Marquez came straight towards me and I didn’t say anything to him at all, because fights are fights, that’s it.
“But when you throw another rider, in my opinion, it’s too much.
“The stewards, obviously, have not done anything, as always. And that’s it, unfortunately the season has ended like this.”
Bezzecchi tried to speak to the stewards about the collision, which they deemed to be a racing incident.
“Yes, I tried to talk to the stewards, but they didn’t have time to talk to me,” the VR46 rider said.
“So, in the end, I couldn’t talk to them. And I had to go to talk to Marquez.
“At least I wanted to clarify it, but, obviously, there has been no way to clarify it with him. It’s a shame, but… amen.”
The simmering rivalry perfectly tees up the 2024 MotoGP season when Bezzecchi, having rejected Pramac to stay at VR46, and Marquez, who will leave Honda for Gresini, will both ride year-old Ducatis.
Keyword: Marco Bezzecchi reveals angry visit to “dirtiest rider in MotoGP” Marc Marquez’s motorhome