Rossi withdraws CAS appeal
Valentino Rossi has withdrawn the appeal he lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a three-point penalty imposed following his clash with Marc Marquez in the Malaysian MotoGP.
Rossi missed out on a seventh MotoGP title to Movistar Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo by five points in a dramatic end to the season.
The Italian led the standings going into the final race in Valencia, but was forced to start from the back of the grid after being penalised for a collision with Marquez in the previous race in Malaysia.
Rossi was unable to overturn the punishment handed out by the Federation of International Motorcycling (FIM) stewards ahead of the season-ending race in Valencia and has now opted against taking the matter any further.
A CAS statement said: “Valentino Rossi has withdrawn the appeal filed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the FIM Stewards’ decision to impose 3 penalty points on his record following an incident with another rider during the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix race held on 25 October 2015.
“In his appeal to the CAS, Mr Rossi sought the annulment of the penalty, or at least a reduction from 3 points to 1, since on the basis of the FIM Regulations, a rider with 4 penalty points must start the next race from last grid position.
“Together with his appeal, Mr Rossi filed an urgent application to stay the execution of the challenged decision in order not to lose his place on the starting grid at the final event of the season which was held in Valencia/Spain on 6-8 November 2015.
“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.”
