Casey Stoner Blames Valentino Rossi for Sparking Feud with Marc Marquez

   Casey Stoner Blames Valentino Rossi for Sparking Feud with Marc Marquez

  “You’re not going to scare someone like Marc Marquez out of it,” says Stoner.

Casey Stoner has stepped into the long-standing Valentino Rossi-Marc Marquez feud, which has captured the MotoGP world’s attention since 2015. This rivalry continues to fuel fan debates, especially with Marquez now joining forces with Rossi’s protégé, Francesco Bagnaia, at Ducati.

Stoner believes Marquez “deserved” some of the criticism he received but argues that Rossi ignited the conflict. Speaking on the Ducati Diaries podcast, Stoner said, “Marc, to a certain degree, deserved his criticism. He tried to get in there.” However, he emphasized that the root cause lies with Rossi, claiming that Marquez was merely reacting to Rossi’s provocation.

“Even though people blame Marc for the whole thing, they forget Valentino started it,” Stoner explained. “Marc’s been aggressive throughout his career, but it was Valentino who initiated the war of words. They were friends until Valentino stirred the pot, and Marc retaliated.”

Stoner described Rossi’s move as a tactical mistake, warning against trying to intimidate someone like Marquez. “If someone rides aggressively, you shouldn’t try to scare them out of it, especially not Marc Marquez,” he said. “Rossi poked the bear during a championship year he could have won, only to provoke the worst possible rival—one who could beat him.”

Stoner also pointed out that Rossi’s psychological tactics, which worked early in his career, were less effective against younger rivals like himself, Dani Pedrosa, and Jorge Lorenzo. “Rossi used to get into riders’ minds, but by the time we came along, we had learned his tricks and knew how to counter them,” he added.

Reflecting on the infamous 2015 Malaysian GP clash, Stoner remarked that Rossi’s involvement in the feud led to his own unraveling. Despite Marquez receiving some deserved backlash, Stoner believes Rossi lost control and ultimately hurt himself.

Interestingly, Stoner and Rossi have since reconciled their own rivalry, with Stoner making a surprise visit to Rossi’s VR46 Ranch last year, signaling a truce between the two former competitors.