Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi has hit back at reigning world champion Casey Stoner after comments the Australian made following the pair's thrilling battle at Sunday's US GP.
Italian Rossi won the race at Laguna Seca after he overtook Stoner with a daring pass on the fourth lap at the Cavatappi bend.
He held on until the 23rd lap when Stoner slid into the gravel at the start of the home straight as he pushed to take back the lead.
Stoner moaned after the race that he felt Rossi's tactics were a little dubious.
‘I enjoyed a lot of the race, but I felt that some of the passes were a bit too much for me,’ he said.
‘I've been racing for a lot of years and have come through a lot of different ranks, and for me just a couple of passes were a little too much. I would have liked to have had a little bit of a cleaner battle.’
Rossi had dived down the inside of Stoner but in trying to hold the bend he drifted inside onto the gravel, yet stayed upright and made the pass stick.
Nine laps from home Stoner was pushing hard to get back in front but he lost 14 seconds after falling off his bike and, more importantly, any hope of winning.
But in an interview with Corriere dello Sport Rossi dismissed Stoner’s comments about the unfairness of certain moves.
‘On the podium he told me that he'd lost respect for me because he's been racing for many years and he doesn't remember ever having a race like that,’ said the Italian.
‘Well if he's been racing for many years, I've been racing for a lifetime and I don't know who he's been racing against but I remember all my races being like that and my rivals always fought that way.’
The result at Laguna Seca leaves Rossi with a 25 point lead over Stoner at the top of the standings as Spaniard Dani Pedrosa's title hopes seem to have vanished after he crashed out of the previous race in Germany while leading, suffering injuries that kept him out of the US GP.
It means the race for the world title should be between Stoner and Rossi with seven races left and a possible 175 points up for grabs.
‘He's used to the mentality of racing at the front with a four second advantage over the field but racing shoulder-to-shoulder brings other factors into play,’ said Rossi.
‘Hence this time I won and I'm happy.’
Rossi also said that he felt his move at Cavatappi was his best of all time.
‘It's difficult to classify races especially as this season I’ve had many back and forth battles,’ he said.
‘But for sure this was one of my best five victories because Stoner is a tough cookie.
‘And the pass at Cavatappi was the best of my career; he barely braked on the bend and me even less so, so little in fact that my wheels touched the gravel.’
