Marquez says tensions with Rossi "not that big anymore"

For a few laps, the battle between Marquez and Rossi on Sunday reminded onlookers of the cataclysm that both starred in at Sepang last year.

The Spaniard and the Italian passed and re-passed each other numerous times, before the former made a mistake in his fight with Cal Crutchlow and ruled himself out of the podium.

As soon as he got off the bike, Marquez admitted he had had fun, although he also took part of the blame for having pushed too hard and not having settled for second.

"When I arrived in the garage after the race, we had the usual meeting and they pulled my ears and told me off a bit," said Marquez, who remains 50 points clear of Rossi in the title chase.

"It all came from the mistake with the front tyre choice [he chose the soft], but then, in the heat of the fight, I decided to risk it."

About the fight him and Rossi had and that made the crowd stand up from their seats, Marquez insisted that it didn't mean re-opening the chapter written in Malaysia.

The Catalan rider was asked about Rossi's observations after the Italian had contrasted their battle to the one at Sepang, saying: "This time we were both trying to do the same, which was going as quick as possible."

Marquez, however, did not want to get drawn in to such a debate. "I'm not going to talk about that and I don't care what Valentino thinks or says. I know very well what I did every time," he said.

Later that night, Marquez took part in Spanish radio program 'El Transistor', on Onda Cero, and there he was asked to explain again how his relationship with Rossi is going after both shook hands at Barcelona in the wake of Luis Salom's tragic death.

"The important thing is that with Valentino there's a cordial relationship, professional between us two, and that's good for motorcycling," said the Honda rider.

"In the press conferences the tension is not that big anymore. Now we greet each other, shake hands, and then on track, if you have to fight, you fight, with him or with someone else."