Rossi Blames Elias for Careless Riding

Last weekend's race in Istanbul was, arguably, a disaster for Valentino Rossi and his Fiat Yamaha Team. Not only that the Italian failed to score his first win in Turkey, but he also lost the number one spot in Overall Point Standings. Most of that had to do with the Michelin tires that he used during the race. It's no wonder that 8 of the Top 10 finishers were Bridgestone-equipped, since Michelin had real problems in keeping the pace with its rivals at Istanbul.

Apart from bringing the tire-factor into discussion, Rossi also found another reason for his poor performance on Sunday. According to the 5-time world champion, Gresini Honda's Toni Elias was more than aggressive when trying to fight him for a better position into the race.

“I'm quite unhappy with Elias because I think he was quite dangerous. More than once he passed me on the inside and then altered his line. This is not a correct way to race”, said Rossi after the Sunday race. His statement was as interesting as it came only 2 days after Istanbul hero Casey Stoner had also slammed Elias with a dangerous maneuver during Friday's practice session.

The first incident that Rossi was referring to was the one that occurred in Lap 5. When fighting both Suzuki's John Hopkins and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi for a podium position, the Spaniard decided to push the brakes pretty late and slid wide at the complex, forcing the Italian to lose both his balance and precious time in the race. As for the other tensed moment that caught the two riders fighting for positions, it happened only 4 laps later, when the pair banged shoulders as Elias tried to overtake the Yamaha rider on the inside line of the same corner.

In response, the Gresini Honda rider – who managed to finish the race in 2nd place and bring his team its first podium appearance of the season – stated that he shouldn't carry the blame for the two incidents: “Races are like this and I don't think I did anything wrong. I don't know, if he's angry what can I do?”

Rossi and Elias have a interesting history of side-by-side duels. The Spaniard is now leading the 'fight' 2-0, after taking the win out of Rossi's pocket in last seasons' Portuguese GP. The Gresini rider then beat Rossi by only 0.002 seconds for his first ever MotoGP win and cost the Italian some crucial 5 points in Overall Standings. The exact 5 points of difference would have brought Rossi his 6th consecutive MotoGP title, as he lost the championship to Nicky Hayden by only... 5 points.