Gibernau blasts Valentino Rossi: "There was no need to do that

Sete Gibernau is not a rider who likes to talk much, but when he does, he’s clear and concise. The former Spanish rider once again recalled the incident with Valentino Rossi at the 2005 Jerez GP, pointing to it as the exact moment he began to lose faith in MotoGP. Not because of the defeat itself, but because of what happened (or didn’t happen) afterward.

The rivalry between Rossi and Gibernau defined an era. At the start of the new millennium, the two riders were protagonists of some of the duels that made MotoGP history. Particularly notable was the showdown that ignited at the final corner in Jerez, when the champion from Tavullia dived his bike up the inside, there was contact, and Gibernau ran off line, losing the victory in front of his home crowd. "He hit me at the last corner," Gibernau recalls. "I went off the track and finished second, but he didn’t receive any penalty. That was when I started to lose faith in this sport."

For the Catalan, the problem wasn’t the contact itself, but the feeling of impunity. He says it wasn’t an isolated incident, but the culmination of a pattern that repeated itself season after season. "It was always the same thing. In 2003, Vale and I; in 2004, Vale and I; in 2005, again. And I couldn’t understand it. This wasn’t a contact sport." Sete Gibernau began to lose his passion, due to the sense that certain behaviors were tolerated depending on who carried them out.

The former rider goes further and questions the legacy such actions have left in the World Championship. "Everyone is brave in MotoGP. From the first to the last... If I were a father, I wouldn’t want my son to take part in a championship like this. Courage isn’t about hitting another rider. If that’s what you want to do, get in a boxing ring."

According to Gibernau, the lack of a penalty for Valentino Rossi set a dangerous precedent. "He didn’t need to do it. A lot happened after that move. Riders saw it and thought: ‘This is the right way to do it.’ And then one does it to another, and another to another... And in the race they’ll kill you."