Casey Stoner denies blocking Valentino Rossi in Estoril test

Casey Stoner has denied accusations from Valentino Rossi that he deliberately blocked the factory Ducati rider during the recent MotoGP test at the Estoril circuit.

Rossi has been quoted in the Italian press in the last few days saying that he felt 2007 world champion Stoner had obstructed him during the Monday test in Portugal.
But Repsol Honda rider Stoner seemed genuinely shocked earlier today in Le Mans when he was told about Rossi’s comments.

Stoner dismissed the suggestion of an on-track altercation and rubbished suggestions that he’d deliberately blocked Rossi’s line at Estoril’s Turn 6.

Stoner said he had simply made an error in the braking zone and had done nothing to impede Rossi’s line.

The Aussie told MCN: “I wanted to see what the Ducati was capable of but I missed my braking marker. I didn’t want to overtake him but I ran a bit wide and I came past too quickly. I had to go inside and then I ran wide to let him pass. That’s it and then he started to think that I did it on purpose, so for me it is no problem.”

“Maybe I could have made the corner but I didn’t want to get in the way of Valentino, so I went wide. Valentino slowed up the lap and was looking at me saying ‘what I did’. But for me it was just an accidental overtake and I ran wide. It was a small mistake from me.”

Rossi himself was reluctant to divulge any additional thoughts on the matter when he was quizzed during the pre-event press conference ahead of this weekend’s French Grand Prix in Le Mans.

He avoided fanning the flames of his current spat with Stoner by declaring: “In reality nothing special, nothing, no problem. Nothing happened.”

The current bad blood between Rossi and Stoner stems from the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season. The pair were dicing for the podium in a rain-hit Jerez clash when Stoner was wiped out by Rossi after the Italian made a hash of an overtaking move at the first corner on lap eight.

The incident sparked the famous ‘ambition outweighed your talent’ quote from Stoner when Rossi went to apologise in the Repsol Honda garage immediately after the dramatic race.

And they exchanged verbal blows again prior to the Estoril race after Stoner was upset at Rossi’s desire to follow him in practice.