Valencia, Spain - Italian great Valentino Rossi goes into Sunday's MotoGP title decider with his hopes of a 10th world championship hanging by a thread after a court ruled he must start in last place.
The 36-year-old, who has won seven of his titles in the top category and is battling against Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo for another, had sought a stay of execution for the penalty pending an appeal hearing.
However, the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement it had dismissed Rossi's application and upheld a stewards' decision from the Malaysian Grand Prix in October.
"Valentino Rossi will commence the next (and last) event of the season from the last grid position," it said.
The CAS added, though, that the arbitration procedure remained in progress and a final decision had yet to be made on the merits of the case.
Rossi leads Spanish rival Lorenzo by seven points, with 25 for a win, ahead of a finale that has been overshadowed by controversy since the last round in Malaysia.
The row kicked off, literally according to Rossi's accusers, when the Italian tangled with Honda's outgoing double world champion Marc Marquez at Sepang.
The young Spaniard has said Rossi used his leg to make him crash, an allegation the Italian has denied while suggesting Marquez was trying to sabotage his championship bid and help Lorenzo.
THIRD PLACE
Race stewards allowed Rossi to keep his third-place result in Malaysia but handed him three penalty points which, added to an earlier one, triggered an automatic demotion for Valencia.
The sanction has divided the sport, fuelled national rivalries and led to finger-pointing in both directions.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called Rossi to express his support while Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy took to Twitter to back Marquez. Yamaha has taken up the cudgels against Honda.
An Italian watch company that sponsors Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo is to quit MotoGP as a result of a bitter controversy that has hit the title hopes of Yamaha team mate Valentino Rossi. Sector No Limits said its brand values had always been "sportsmanship, challenge, healthy competition and integrity".
Spanish media have compared Rossi's actions to those of Italian defender Mauro Tassotti who elbowed Spain's Luis Enrique in the face in an infamous incident in the quarter-finals of the 1994 soccer World Cup.
On the other side, Marquez filed a legal complaint after he and his family were allegedly insulted and physically attacked by Italian television reporters at their home near Barcelona.
Hundreds of thousands have also signed an online petition calling on MotoGP organisers to drop the Valencia penalty.
Such has been the atmosphere that the International Motorcycling Federation and promoters Dorna cancelled Thursday's pre-race news conference and summoned riders "to address the situation".
"The recent events have poisoned the atmosphere around the sport," said FIM president Vito Ippolito. "I hope the riders will fight it out on the track in Valencia in a way that fully respects the spirit of fair play."
REGRETS? THEY HAVE A FEW
Both Rossi and Lorenzo expressed regrets on Thursday about their behaviour as they prepared for a tense and controversy-laden MotoGP title showdown in Valencia at the weekend.
Rossi told reporters he regretted the move in Malaysia that kicked off the furore.
"I just regret going wide and not following my normal line," said Rossi when asked if he regretted anything from the last two weeks.
"But I am here and we have to try the maximum and stay concentrated, try to do good work during the weekend and arrive competitive as fast as possible for the race."
The 36-year-old Italian said he had no intention of walking away from the sport after Sunday.
"My dream was to fight for the championship and after a very good season I can fight," he said. "For the rest, this situation doesn't modify my passion or my thinking of the future.
"I will race next year because I already have the contract and during next year a lot of things will change - and after that I decide to continue or not."
Lorenzo, speaking separately, said he regretted the thumbs-down gesture he made against his team-ate on the Malaysian podium as the Italian collected the third-place trophy.
"I just want to say the gesture I made on the podium was a mistake," he said. "I regret that. It's not a sporting example especially for young people watching MotoGP around the world," added the Spaniard who also made clear he had no intention of leaving Yamaha.
"Naturally all marriages have some moments of disagreement," he said. "Our relationship in the future will be the same. Valentino and I form one of the best teams in the world."
Marquez, who is out of contention for the title, said he had not changed his opinion about what happened in Malaysia but was not expecting to talk to Rossi until after the championship was decided.
Vito Ippolito, president of motorcycling's governing body, said changes would be made in 2016 to prevent such a controversy happening again. - Reuters
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