Rossi withdraws Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal

Valentino Rossi has drawn a line under his 2015 season with the withdrawal of his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for his incident with Marc Marquez at Sepang.

Rossi suffered three penalty points and a back of the grid penalty in the collision, and had immediately appealed the decisions; although his hopes of a stay of execution on the penalty were quashed by the Swiss-based sports arbiters.

However, in a move that signifies a final end to the 2015 season, the Italian has withdrawn that appeal, according to a statement released by the Court today.

“On 5 November 2015, the Sole Arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement of the parties, Prof. Ulrich Haas (Germany), dismissed Valentino Rossi’s request to stay the execution of the challenged decision. The Sole Arbitrator found that the conditions to grant the stay were not met, and accordingly, Valentino Rossi began the Valencia race from the last grid position.

“Mr Rossi has now informed the CAS that he does not wish to continue with his appeal. Accordingly, the arbitration procedure has been terminated and the FIM decision will continue to remain in force.”