MOTOGP: Rossi thinks Lorenzo deserved a penalty

Valentino Rossi does not understand why Yamaha MotoGP teammate Jorge Lorenzo escaped a penalty for what he feels was a repeat of their Misano run-in last year in Qatar.

Rossi was penalized for an incident in qualifying for the 2015 San Marino Grand Prix, when he was deemed to have impeded Lorenzo on his final run. The penalty of a single licence point was a factor in Rossi tripping the four-point threshold that caused him to start the Valencia finale last, following his Sepang clash with Marc Marquez.

In what Rossi feels is a clear reversal of the Misano incident, Rossi started a flying lap in Saturday's pre-qualifying practice session in Qatar, but found Lorenzo - who had just exited pitlane - at Turn 1. Rossi turned around to remonstrate with the Spaniard, and they appeared to continue the exchange after the checkered flag, while preparing for practice starts.

Lorenzo, who later secured pole position for Sunday's season opener, was not penalized.

"He exited from the pit without looking at the track and when he arrived at the first corner, he tried to slow down but he was on the line," Rossi said. "The problem is that I say, 'Why?', and I expect, 'Sorry', but he say to me like this [with hand motion], 'What do you want?'

"The problem is that this situation happened exactly the same in Misano qualifying when I did the same mistake. He was very angry with me after the practice and at the end they gave me one [penalty] point.

"They don't give him one point. I don't know why."

LORENZO: WHAT COULD I DO?

While not addressing the Misano penalty directly, Lorenzo said there was little he could do in Saturday's situation, adding that he was confused by Rossi's frustration.

"In my opinion, he has no reason to complain," he said. "Everybody knows that when you exit the pits, you cannot stop to let them past because there was some riders entering the first corner and you are already in the corner.

"All you can do is try to stay in the white line. This is what I did, I could not be in the air, or in the gravel.

"What can I do? If he is still angry with me, I don't know the reason."

Originally on Autosport.com