Motorsport is dangerous. That’s something that every single person who’s ever watched a race is inherently aware of, given the incredible scenes and painful crashes we witness on a daily basis as fans of the sport.
And, knowing that, it means that the response of some fans to Marc Marquez crashing out of the lead of Saturday’s MotoGP sprint at Misano is nothing short of outrageous in itself, even without the amplification we saw not just from the TV broadcast of the race but from some legends of MotoGP who should know better.
The prospect of a Marquez win at Misano, Valentino Rossi’s home territory, was of course always going to be quite unpopular. The wounds of their infamous 2015 clash clearly haven’t yet healed for many, and while the story of Marquez’s 2020 injury and return to form (on an Italian bike, no less) have won him new fans, there’s still clearly a huge amount of animosity from some of the more hardcore Rossi loyalists towards him.
And when Marquez is battling against one of Rossi’s proteges in the VR46 Academy, tensions are heightened even more - which is what led to the appalling scenes of fans cheering and jeering him as he slid face first into the air fencing, handing Marco Bezzecchi back the Misano sprint race lead as he did so.
I don’t really care how much you dislike someone; cheering a rider - any rider - crashing out of a race is beyond the pale. We are all aware of what can happen even in innocuous crashes, and it’s hard to see how someone taking screaming satisfaction from watching it can call themselves a fan of our sport.
Sure, people get booed in sport; Marquez in particular is no stranger to that, be it on the podium or after taking a victory, just like footballers get heckled during corner kicks or rugby crowds try to distract kickers as they take penalties.
But just like anyone who cheers a leg-breaking tackle should be rightly ostracised by their fellow football fans, MotoGP needs to be stronger in its calling out of this absolutely despicable behaviour.
It doesn’t help, of course, that MotoGP itself added fuel to the flames by making sure to include shots of Rossi fans in the crowd cheering in joy - and making some choice gestures - as Marquez slid into the wall. It wasn’t necessary to reward their behaviour by highlighting it in such a way, and it only encourages it to continue in the future.
But it wasn’t (just like it hasn’t been since Sepang 2015) the TV directors who played the biggest role in condoning this sort of behaviour. That dubious honour instead goes to seven-time MotoGP champion Rossi, who was caught on camera trackside surrounded by his inner circle, appearing to take enjoyment in his arch-rival crashing out.
La reacción de Valentino Rossi a la caída de Marc Márquez en la Sprint 👀#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/v5pE4XpG09
— DAZN España (@DAZN_ES) September 13, 2025
Love him or hate him, but since 2015, Marc Marquez has done absolutely everything he can to downplay the end of that season. I can’t recall the last time I heard him refer to it, or even to talk about Rossi at all except in the most general (and normally quite complimentary) terms.
Rossi, for his part, has taken every opportunity to bring up the final two races of that year, regularly painting Marquez as the man who denied him his eighth title and generally pouring more fuel on the fire, especially as Marquez has risen from injury to runaway title leader against Ducati team-mate (and another Rossi protege) Pecco Bagnaia in 2025.
It’s unbecoming of his legacy on the sport and the incredible impact he made while dominating MotoGP, as he increasingly paints himself as an old man shouting at clouds - and hopefully sooner than later, some of those closest to him will remind him that it’s better let bygones be bygones than to tarnish your own incredible legacy.
Pick a different year
Val Khorounzhiy
Let's say you don't find anything particularly distasteful with the hyper-partisan cheering of crashes or just the other excesses of the whole Marquez vs VR46 saga.
Even in that case, you probably would still admit that this just isn't the best time for this kind of thing - because in wider 2025 context it is incredibly lame.
Yes, Marquez's crash meant that an Italian Rossi protege won in Italy (though the main trophy is still to be decided tomorrow), but on a bigger scale this is the season in which Marquez waltzed into an Italian factory and immediately removed VR46's most accomplished and most recognisable protege from MotoGP's A-tier of riders.
The 'trolling' energy might be better-served trying to lift up Bagnaia, who looked fundamentally broken again on Saturday, and who was eliminated from mathematical title contention even with the championship leader crashing.
Both riders' onboard footage from the sprint is available publicly. Marquez, though he ended his sprint ingloriously, looks like a rider dancing on the bike, closing up to race leader Bezzecchi at ease in braking zones, staying right with him through corner exits, barely ever looking unsettled. Bagnaia looks like a random paddock guest was Freaky Friday'd into his body just before lights out.
"I'm living a nightmare," was his description afterwards.
If there's a VR46 vs Marquez fight in 2025, Marquez won it months ago. Raucuously celebrating his crash in a Misano sprint is a lot like giving it large over the losing team making the score 1-5 in the seventh additional minute at the end of a football match.
