While I can't fault the general sentiment (although I wanted Rossi to win the title) I'm don't I agree with the specifics, HDTVKSS:
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDTVKSS
I wonder if it has crossed Rossi's mind that if he hadn't tried to play mind games he'd probably be champ now.... He was more or less the architect of his own failure.
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Rossi's comments at following PI guaranteed the reaction from Marquez so it can't be denied that he made the rod for his own back. He would have thought that Marquez was going to do exactly the same things anyway, but that one's lost to the aether. Rossi lost the argument as well as the championship and I'd be surprised if even his ego got in the way of reflecting over how the last few weeks should have been handled better.
But there is an aside to why he spoke out - he knew that Lorenzo had enough pace to overhaul the points gap, interference or not. If he had been more patient with Marquez in the Sepang race he still would have finished 3rd at best, and keeping his qualifying position at Valencia wouldn't have got him any further up than 4th based on his pace throughout the weekend. The cracks were definitely showing by Aragorn; Pedrosa rode out of his skin but he would not have taken 2nd if Rossi had the pace and nous expected of him. Ditto for PI - regardless of what Marquez was or wasn't doing, Rossi should have left something to be able to get past Iannone in the closing laps. Those seven points would have been enough to see the title decided in his favour.
So Rossi would still have had to rely on the Hondas to get past Lorenzo. Having rewatched the race, Marquez is fooling absolutely no-one about his race strategy
but I reckon it would still be a tall order for both of them to have made it past in the closing laps (Lorenzo was quicker from T7 to T13 and the Yamaha had enough to keep the Hondas behind on the straight). The title was gone already, Rossi just put the verbal nails in the coffin.