Francesco Bagnaia Criticizes Documentary About Rossi and Marquez's Clash
JAKARTA – Francesco Bagnaia criticized Dorna's decision to release a documentary about the violent incident involving Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez during the 2015 MotoGP race in Sepang, Malaysia.
The film, titled Sepang Clash, was recently released ahead of the 2025 Malaysian MotoGP on October 26, the decade-long anniversary of the Rossi-Marquez incident.
Several riders who participated in the race at the time were interviewed in the documentary. They gave their perspectives on the incident, which is considered one of the biggest in MotoGP history.
The film angered Bagnaia, who launched a scathing critique. He considered the film inappropriate and distorted the roles of several parties.
"I think, in many ways, drivers have a sensitivity that those who make certain decisions are not valid."
"Even the idea of releasing the documentary, if you can call it that, in 2015, I think, was inappropriate," Bagnaia said, as reported by Crash.
Bagnaia was actually asked to be involved in the documentary, but declined because he felt it was inappropriate to comment on the incident.
Despite being Rossi's protégé, Bagnaia is also Marquez's current teammate on the Ducati Factory Team. He even actively defended the Spanish rider when he was jeered by the Italian rider's diehard fans.
Furthermore, the documentary doesn't feature Rossi or Marquez as the main characters behind the incident.
"I was asked about it at the beginning of the year and I said it wasn't appropriate to talk about it. They brought in (Andrea) Dovizioso, who said he didn't remember anything."
"Even (Ayumu) Sasaki, who couldn't do anything, was a pity," said Bagnaia.
The repercussions of this incident continue to haunt MotoGP to this day. At the time, Rossi was accused of kicking Marquez, causing him to fall and not be able to continue the race.
Every time a race takes place in Malaysia, the incident between these two great men is always remembered. Some are pro-Rossi and others are pro-Marquez.