Seven months after Valentino Rossi declined Marc Marquez's offer of a handshake at Misano, the multiple MotoGP champions exchanged congratulations just before the podium ceremony in Argentina.

"It was a moment, you know?" explained Marquez, when asked about the handshake on the eve of this weekend's Austin round.

"When you give a kiss to the girl, same, in the moment!" he joked. "It was there, the moment, and we were alone! And we shake hands before the podium.

"It was a nice race. I never had a problem, so it's no problem to have a respectful relationship."

"Yeah, it was the right moment," added Rossi, whose roller-coaster relationship with Marquez plummeted a year earlier after contact from the Spaniard at Termas de Rio Hondo. "I make my congratulations because he did a very fast weekend, very fast race. So I think it's normal."