Online Rossi petition goes mad

An online petition in response to the incident at the Malaysian MotoGP that saw Valentino Rossi penalised for his riding antics is gathering a huge amount of support, with over half a million people signing so far.

The Change.org petition was set up following the clash between Rossi and Marc Marquez in Sepang, which will now see Rossi starting the championship decider in Valencia from the back of the grid. Race officials made the decision after the race and penalised Rossi for dangerous riding, which they believe led to Marquez crashing after the two riders came together.

The petition calls for officials to reverse the penalty, claiming that “the sport has an agenda that betrays riders and fans” and that they need to “restore the integrity of the sport”.

Although it will likely have little or no effect the scale of support for the petition is none-the-less impressive, and thousands are still adding their name to it.

FIM President, Vito Ippolito, has commented on the masses of speculation and disagreements that have been sparked as a result of both the incident and the reactions to it off-track, saying it has “poisoned the atmosphere of our sport”

“Everyone has the right to express his or her own ideas. But words and actions always have consequences. Every individual has to take responsibility for those consequences.  The riders, first of all, must be aware of this. Each one of them has thousands of fans who follow their exploits on the track and listen to what they say off the track. For that reason, we look to them, not just in this Championship but in all our disciplines, to set the best example of what our sport should and aspires to be,” he continued.

“Riders, teams, manufacturers and sponsors should not only respect the rules but they should accept the decisions of the officials, whatever they may be. Otherwise, they are contributing to anarchy and undermining the future development of our sport.”

Rossi still leads the championship from Jorge Lorenzo by 7 points, but is teetering on the brink of loosing the chance to gain his tenth world title as a direct result of the clash between him and Marquez. The final showdown in Valencia next weekend is going make for compulsive viewing. 

Click here to view the petition.