Four drivers were eliminated on the first lap at the Indonesian GP, without physical consequences for them. At the heart of the chicane in turns 2 and 3, Jack Miller was surprised by the trajectory taken by Maverick Viñales and he lost control of his bike when he tried to brake harder than expected. Once on the ground, he carried away Aleix Espargaró, while Álex Márquez and Luca Marini could not avoid the fall, which was judged as a racing incident by the stewards.
“I had a pretty good start, I tried to sneak through turn 1 into turn 2, I was side by side with Aleix, and I was just trying to keep that speed on the inside for the turn 3″Miller explained. “When I changed direction in turn 3, Vini was on a tight line, so it was disruptive to whoever was going to be on the outside. I was concentrating on the battle with Aleix in turn 2, and when we arrived in the 3 I saw how close I was to Vini, and as soon as I took the front brake, [la moto] fell.”
“It’s the kind of case where everything closes, the typical kind of thing on the first lap. I want to apologize for this crash, it wasn’t my intention. It’s a racing incident. We’re trying to negotiate a million things at once and unfortunately this time I was trapped.”
“I was the first on the ground and if I fell, it was so as not to hit anyone”explained Miller, assuring that he did not “nothing crazy” in this sequence.
Aleix Espargaró estimated that the Australian was on a very outside trajectory but accepts the classification as a racing incident, even if he is surprised that a collision was sanctioned in Moto2 and not this one. “It’s always difficult”acknowledged the Aprilia driver. “I saw, for example, the decision in Moto2 between Zonta [van der Goorbergh] et [Jaume] Masia. They just put in a double long-lap just because Masia fell. But I saw it as normal contact at turn 1. Why did he have this double long-lap and we didn’t?”
“I don’t care, I don’t blame Jack, it can happen, it’s the first round. Here we take a lot of risks, that’s why here I can understand a decision because if you look at the view from the helicopter, it was completely off course. But in any case, it’s a race and it can happen.
Márquez and Marini totally trapped
Álex Márquez was hit from behind and therefore did not see the incident at the time. He is also lenient towards Jack Miller in the tense context of the first round.
“Not much to say because I didn’t see anything of the fall, it was just a few bikes that hit me in the back, I think it was Miller’s KTM”commented the Gresini driver. “Maybe he was too optimistic when he got there, he lost the front while braking, but that’s something that can happen.”
“Everyone wants to come back quickly, recover positions, and especially on this circuit because afterwards, with the heat and the front tire, it’s difficult to overtake. So not much to say, we can forget, and We will have one more opportunity next week in Motegi.”
The bikes of Álex Márquez and Aleix Espargaró after the crash
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The situation was comparable for Luca Marini, the last pilot trapped. The Honda rider could do nothing with the three motorcycles that fell in front of him. “I couldn’t see, because I was [proche de] Brad Binder”explained Marini. “It’s just that when we made the change of direction, there were three bikes and three riders that were impossible to avoid. I didn’t see anything, so I don’t know.”
“Just bad luck, but whatever, this race was weird, with only twelve riders at the finish. So it was very easy to take points at the finish. But when I picked up my bike, it was destroyed, so it was impossible to resume the race.”
Avec Luca Bortolomeo
