Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) and nine time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), were involved in an incident in the MotoGP race at Jerez, which took the Australian out of proceedings.

Stoner had been in second place when the Italian mounted a challenge behind him and attempted a manoeuvre going into turn one. The Ducati rider made the move past Stoner, but lost control of his bike, causing a collision which brought them both down. Rossi was able to remount his bike and continue, picking up 11 points in fifth place. Here are the thoughts of both riders after the coming together during the race in which Rossi took full responsibility for.

”We made a good start to the race, we understood the tyres weren’t the best and they were trying to spin, so we needed to back off quite a bit,” said the Repsol Honda rider. ”Rossi came up the inside and wasn’t able to stay on the bike and took me out. It was not the best day for us for sure, after such a good weekend. We’re very disappointed with this result. I believe we would have been there at the end because it was a long race with many people crashing which is why we were being quiet.”

Stoner was clearly frustrated after the incident which ended his race prematurely. After the race, Rossi went to the Honda garage to apologise to Stoner for his mistake. The Repsol Honda rider shared his feelings after the two exchanged words.

”For sure, I would prefer if Valentino did it away from the cameras and would say something to me quietly without always having to have proof,” commented Stoner. ”For sure Valentino doesn’t do this for himself, he just wants to show to everybody that he has apologised. Yes it’s a nice gesture, it’s very good, but it still doesn’t change the result today, so we’ll see what happens in the next races.”

Rossi made amends for his mistake, but insisted he was in a position to fight for the podium.

”Yes it was a crazy race because it was difficult conditions and everyone was on the limit with the softer tyres,” explained Rossi. “I was very fast in the beginning of the race in the wet, but unfortunately I made a mistake in braking and I crashed. Unfortunately, I also crashed into Stoner. I went to him to say sorry that I made a mistake. With my race today, we had the potential to try and win or finish on the podium, but at the end the result isn’t so bad. I came back to finish fifth which was important points for the championship.”

Rossi explains Stoner clash

Valentino Rossi made a costly mistake in Sunday’s Spanish MotoGP at Jerez, which robbed the Italian of a potential first Ducati victory and knocked Casey Stoner out of the world championship lead.

Rossi, seventh on his Ducati debut in Qatar, was far more competitive in the wet Jerez conditions and quickly worked his way forwards from twelfth on the grid - after a crash in qualifying - to catch leaders Marco Simoncelli, Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo after 7 of the 27 laps.

The seven-time MotoGP champion wasted no time in overtaking former Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo, putting him directly behind new Repsol Honda rider Stoner, winner from pole in Qatar and on pole again at Jerez.

As the pair headed for turn one at the start of lap 8 Rossi suddenly pulled to the inside and made an unexpected move on Stoner from a long way back. Rossi later claimed he hadn’t been trying to pass Stoner, but simply avoid him.

Either way, Rossi dived inside Stoner and was half-a-bikelength ahead when his front Bridgestone cried enough and dumped him on the asphalt at the apex of the corner. Rossi and his sliding Desmosedici then wiped out the unfortunate Stoner.

Rossi and his bike came to rest with Stoner’s RCV on top of them, but it was Rossi who was able to rejoin and ultimately finish fifth in the crash-packed race, while Stoner was forced to retire.

The #46 apologised to Stoner straight after the race.

Later in the evening Rossi, who set the fastest lap of the race, explained the day’s events from his point of view.

“Today in the wet we had a great chance for me to make my first podium with Ducati, or even to get my first win,” Rossi admitted.

“I felt good, both with the bike and my shoulder, because I could brake where I wanted to rather than where I’m forced to in the dry, since I still don’t have the necessary strength.

“The bike is very fast in the wet. I was advancing really well, and I’m sorry to have made that mistake and thrown away such an opportunity.

“While braking for the first corner, I entered a bit long, and although I tried to stay to the inside, I lost the front and couldn’t stay up. I’m sorry, because I also took out Stoner, and I certainly didn’t want to do that.

“I apologised to him, and I’m truly sorry; it was a mistake. It’s a shame because we really could have gotten some satisfaction, but we’ll keep trying. We’re still not so fast in the dry, but we’re working hard.

“Anyway today’s fifth place gave us eleven points that are very important in the championship.”

The last time Rossi crashed, and brought another rider down with him, was when he collided with Marco Melandri at the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix.

“It’s a shame about the crash because he would have fought for the win, and obviously, we’re also very sorry that Casey was involved,” added team manager Vittoriano Guareschi.

Lorenzo went on to take victory on Sunday, after Simoncelli crashed out of the lead, and now leads the world championship by nine points over Dani Pedrosa.

Stoner, Ducati's 2007 world champion, is 20 points behind in third with Rossi a further five points adrift in fifth.

Stoner: "Rossi is just ambittious"

Vale: "Maybe he doesn't know me"

Controversy between the Australian and the Doctor after the accident in Spain. The ex-Ducati rider: "He's not happy about the bike's performance and he can't get a front-row place on the grid." The Italian: "It was important for me to apologize to him, I don't care what he says"

JEREZ (Spain), 3 April 2011

Casey Stoner on the offensive. Valentino Rossi responds. The accident in the Spanish GP has given rise to a new feud in world motorbike racing between the Australian and the Doctor.

Casey attacks — "Valentino is more ambitious than talented", the Australian hits hard. "Ok he did apologize and that's positive but things didn't go well for me. He's not happy with the performance of the bike and he can't start from the front. We left him an excellent bike (Stoner rode for Ducati until last year), but at this stage we'll have to wait until his shoulder heals before we see him overtaking properly."

Valentino replies — "Maybe he doesn't know exactly who I am, but it's no problem. He's angry," replies an irritated Rossi. "What's important is that I apologized to him; I don't really care what he says. I was approaching fast and made a mistake. I didn't want to overtake Stoner, I arrived a little too close and knocked him off as well. The Ducati? The bike needs a little fine-tuning which wasn't done much in the past...Providence gave us a chance to make the podium or maybe even to win, but I messed that up. I though I could win, I knew I was going fast and I was beginning to get a taste of victory, we were very close to each other. It's easier to ride the Ducati in wet conditions and I was able to brake where and when I wanted in spite of my shoulder. We are competitive in the wet, whereas under dry conditions we can't manage to keep up with the first three, especially because my shoulder isn't 100% yet."