Although Franco Morbidelli started between positions ahead of Joan Mir, the Prima Pramac Racing rider suffered a bad start which saw him end up in the clutches of his Honda rival in the first corners.
While they were battling for position, Morbidelli came into contact with Mir in an accident that was not covered by television, sending the Majorcan wide and dropping him to 21st position, ending up in turn with his wheels in the air.
Although the Honda rider then managed to recover up to 12th place, also favored by several retirements among the riders ahead of him, he explained that he believed that Morbidelli had simply been too aggressive for the positions they were fighting for.
“When you're in those positions, you have to stay a bit calm in the first laps. This is the reality, because it's an important race and there are many bikes in front of you. You should be a bit intelligent, right? And Modulelli isn't state”.
“He came at me. He hit me with a lot of speed. I went off the track at turn 8 and my race was compromised a bit by this.”
Mir revealed that his Honda was heavily damaged by contact with Morbidelli, which affected both the braking and cornering stability of the RC213V.
“The back of the bike, the rear wing and everything else is gone,” he said. “The front wing was also there, but it was shaking and moving a lot. Then the exhaust was also damaged. Without the wings I was struggling, stopping the bike at turn 1 was a challenge, even at turn 5.”
Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I had a good weekend, I'm in good shape. So let's think about the next race and hope that the other riders use their heads more in the first laps. This way it will also be safer for everyone.”
As mentioned, Morbidelli crashed following the accident with Mir, but was able to get back on the bike to refine the feeling with his Ducati, which he is discovering during the race weekends, having been forced to miss the entire pre-season .
Despite his anger, Mir believes that Morbidelli did not deserve a sanction for the incident, as the fall was enough for the Italian.
“Well, he crashed didn't he? So he was penalised,” said the 26-year-old. “If he hadn't fallen, maybe they could have penalized him. But he fell and nobody wants to fall. So this is the penalty he received.”
Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Morbidelli, meanwhile, defended his driving when Mir's views were put to him, downplaying his role in the collision.
“It's part of racing when you're in a group,” said the Italian. “I went inside, we touched and from there I went wide.”
Despite the accident, Morbidelli managed to accumulate kilometers to try to understand the behavior of the Desmosedici GP24 a little better, even if he finished at the rear of the group.
“We continue to learn with this bike and I can go home quite satisfied,” said the 29-year-old. “Certainly, not in terms of results, because I made a mistake in the race. I started badly, found myself in the group, went wide and fell.”
“This practically eliminated the chances of a result, but actually then the pace was acceptable. So it's encouraging, because I still have to get in tune with everything, but we're already understanding some things. So it's positive. I just have to keep moving forward and improve.”
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