Rossi says Marquez let Lorenzo win so fellow Spaniard could be champion

Lorenzo leads Marquez – was Marquez holding back to deny Rossi the title?

Valentino Rossi criticised Marc Marquez's behaviour as "unbelievable" and says that the situation is "embarrassing" for the sport after he lost out on the 2015 MotoGP title to team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

Rossi has claimed repeatedly that Marquez has been assisting Lorenzo's title bid and in Valencia the Honda rider remained behind his compatriot throughout the 30-lap race, without challenging for the lead.

Rossi recovered from the back of the grid to finish in fourth place, but Lorenzo's victory enabled him to clinch a third MotoGP crown.

Rossi is sure that Marquez was protecting race leader Lorenzo and says such a scenario is "very, very bad news" for MotoGP.

"I think that after Motegi I have the potential to win the championship but unfortunately from the race in Phillip Island something changed and in these last three races we saw something that we never saw before in our sport," Rossi said.

"I think that the situation was already bad, but today was embarrassing for everybody because it was unbelievable, the behaviour of Marquez is something very bad for everything, especially for the sport.

"It is something that nobody expects, because a Honda rider that made a Yamaha rider win and give the maximum just to push out his team-mate is something that nobody expects and I think it is very, very bad news. Anyway, it is like this, we have to accept.

"I am happy because now everybody see what I said in Australia and I don't understand the behaviour of Marquez but sincerely for me it is very difficult to say something to him because I hope that he will understand what he did in these last three races in the future of his career.

"For sure the Hondas were faster. We know that in the second part of the race Honda have a better potential but Marquez just protect Lorenzo like he did in Phillip Island and also Sepang.

"At the end I think that also Lorenzo have to not be very happy, as it is not a Championship that was won on track. But anyway it's memories."

Marquez, who claimed his battle with team-mate Pedrosa denied him a shot at Lorenzo, hit back at Rossi's comments.

"It is clear that the words of Valentino to his fans will weigh a lot," he said.

"Valentino has won with charisma throughout his career and he is the benchmark for any rider.

"For me, for a rider with a winning mentality, telling people I did not want to win a race is an insult because whenever I go out I go to win and do the best job possible."