Rossi/Stoner marshals acted correctly in Jerez

The action of marshals in the immediate aftermath of Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner’s collision in the recent Jerez MotoGP race has been deemed safe and appropriate after a review in Estoril today.

Race Direction reviewed video evidence of the controversial incident in Estoril earlier while today’s meeting also heard from Juan Alvarez, Director of the Jerez circuit.

Aussie Stoner was heavily critical of the way marshals behaved after he was wiped out by factory Ducati rival Rossi as the pair diced for the podium in an enthralling rain-hit Jerez clash.

Stoner was furious that he was not given more assistance to re-join the race and he said marshals in the first corner incident had shown favouritism to nine-times world champion Rossi.

Stoner repeated his criticism of the marshals again yesterday when speaking on the eve of this weekend’s third round in Portugal. The Repsol Honda rider was forced to retire while Rossi remounted to claim fifth position.

But a short statement from Race Direction said: “After reviewing various videos of the incident between Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner during the race of the Grand Prix of Spain on 3 April 2011 and hearing the explanation from Juan Alvarez, Director of the Circuito de Jerez, the Race Direction has decided that the behaviour of the track marshals was safe and appropriate.”

“The Race Direction recommends the current rules be reviewed by the Grand Prix Commission in order to study possible solutions that may results in better procedures.”