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Rossi Says Simoncelli to Blame for Pedrosa Crash

Marco Simoncelli doesn't have a lot of fans within the MotoGP field – mostly due to his aggressive riding style – yet he always found an “ally” in 7-time world champion and countryman Valentino Rossi, who defended him publicly every time he got the chance. This time however, the latter admitted Simoncelli was “too hard” on Dani Pedrosa during the French GP, as he led the Spaniard into a crash.

The Italian rider practically crossed Pedrosa's line in the corner, coming from the outside, and the Honda works rider hit the gravel shortly after. The worst part about it was that the Spaniard was diagnosed with a broken collarbone, only weeks after recuperating from a similar injury (at his other collarbone).

I saw the problem between Marco and Dani just one time, but for me, this time Simoncelli was [riding] too hard,” said Rossi after the race, according to Autosport.

He didn't leave space for Dani. Coming from the outside, maybe he was braking harder, but maybe a bit too aggressive because Dani didn't have any room to do anything. I think it's also a mistake because I think Simoncelli at that part of the race was getting strong, so maybe don't overtake Dani at that braking point - overtake Dani on the next lap.

Simoncelli managed to remain in the saddle of his bike for the remainder of the race, but was handed a drivethrough penalty by the race officials shortly after the incident. That demoted him from 2nd to 5th overall. Needless to say, the Italian did not admit to any guilt in the accident, saying that the penalty was totally undeserved.

I tried to pass him and to do the corner. I tried also to give him some space to do the corner, but I think that he did a little mistake and he arrived a little bit out of the line. He touched me on the back, I tried to pick up the bike, but he crashed. I'm so sorry for this and the points I've lost.”

They penalised me, but if the same thing had happened with some other rider or without me, for me nobody would have been penalized.
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