Kuala Lumpur: Yamaha have appealed against Valentino Rossi's penalty for a collision at the Malaysian Grand Prix with the Italian claiming it has "cut me off by the legs" ahead of the MotoGP title decider. Championship leader Rossi denied kicking out at defending champion Marc Marquez and sending him sliding out of the race during a tense fight for a crucial third-place finish at Sepang on Sunday. Rossi was demoted to the back of the grid for the final race of the season at Valencia next month with only rival for the title Jorge Lorenzo just seven points behind.


Valentino Rossi. Pic/AFP 

The incident has reignited simmering bad blood between Rossi, a nine-time motorcycling champion pursuing his first title since 2009, and his rivals, including Yamaha teammate Lorenzo. Rossi, the sport's grand old man at 36, previously said Marquez had schemed to help his fellow Spaniard Lorenzo win precious points at the Australian Grand Prix.