Rossi To Start from Back of Grid, As CAS Rejects Injunction

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected Valentino Rossi’s request for a stay of his penalty, given to him at Sepang. The three-point penalty, handed to him at Sepang for the incident he was involved in with Marc Marquez, means he will start from the back of the grid for the final race of the season at Valencia.

Rossi will still be entitled to participate in Q2, if he finishes in the top ten after the three sessions of free practice, but the position he secures in Q2 will not count for his grid position. Everyone who qualifies behind him will be moved forward one position on the grid.

The CAS ruling is only on Rossi’s request to have the penalty suspended for Valencia. The full case will still be heard in front of the panel of arbitration, but that will still take between six and twelve months, and will have no impact on the outcome of the the 2015 championship.

It also means that Rossi has now served his penalty, and he will not have to serve it again after the hearing has completed.

This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.