Movistar Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo became involved in an awkward verbal clash at Misano, with reigning world champion Lorenzo accusing the Italian of riding too aggressively.
Rossi made a strong pass on Lorenzo on the brakes to take the lead on lap two in San Marino, causing the Spaniard to sit up. A clearly irked Lorenzo, who was loudly booed on the podium by Rossi's fervent fans after finishing third behind race winner Dani Pedrosa and runner-up Rossi, said the move almost caused him to crash.
Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa made a similar hard overtake on Rossi later in the race to take the lead and The Doctor said he had no issues with the manoeuvre, stating: 'This is racing when you try for the victory at the end'.
Asked for his view on his overtake on Lorenzo, Rossi said: “Like I said before on the other side with Pedrosa, overtaking here at Misano is always a bit difficult, but I want to try from the beginning because I want to try to modify something because in Mugello, I was behind Lorenzo and it bring me unlucky with the broken engine, so this time I want to try to stay in front.”