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Rossi Insists He Did Not Want to Pass Stoner

Valentino Rossi insisted that he didn't want to pass Casey Stoner on Lap 8 of the Spanish GP last weekend, when he lost control of his bike and crashed into the Australian rider.

The Italian had moved up the pack in the first few laps of the race at Jerez, held in damp conditions, and was running as high as 3rd when the incident occurred. At the end of the straight line, he braked later than the Honda rider and tried to take the inside of the first corner in order to miss Stoner, but the contact could not be avoided.

When I arrived behind Stoner, I didn't want to overtake him in the moment of braking, but I braked a bit too deep compared to him, and I arrived too fast and I didn't have enough room to go on the outside so I tried to go on the inside to make less problems for both of us but unfortunately I lost the front and I also took him out,” explained Rossi.

It's completely my mistake and I have to say sorry to Casey. I know that he's very angry because he didn't make any mistakes. I went straight to say sorry

After the race, Rossi went to the Honda garage to apologize to Stoner for his maneuver, but the Australian was still angry in the pose-race interviews. Asked about Rossi's gesture, the Honda rider insisted his rival didn't have to come with a bunch of cameras with him to apologize and revealed having told to the Ducati rider that his “ambition outweighed his talent.”

I don't know, maybe he doesn't know exactly who I am!” smiled Rossi in a post-race interview with Italia1 TV channel. “But it's okay, it's fair enough, he's angry and I would be too. I've made a mistake and for me it was important to apologise. I'm not so interested in what he says.”
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