The fallout from Valentino Rossi’s extraordinary attack on Marc Marquez created more interest and discussion than the first day at an increasingly smoggy Sepang.
Jorge Lorenzo, the forgotten man in this bunfight, was fastest and Valentino Rossi was around two-thirds of a second slower. So far, that’s pretty much standard for the first day of a GP. Rossi’s crew working out what to do about the chatter they found in the afternoon, doubtless will get closer in qualifying. The question is will Iannone use the Duke’s straight line speed as well as he did in Oz, and it appears Phillip Island was a cold-weather blip for the newly restored Dani Pedrosa.
And then there’s Marc Marquez. Less than amused by Rossi’s accusations but not engaging in any discussion of the issues, Marc has been given his script by Honda and will doubtless stick to it: Do not be tempted to indulge in the sort of antics Rossi was accusing you of; do not give in to the temptation to take any action; win the race.
As this is what Rossi wants him to do, Marc may find this another reason to harbor a grudge.
