2023-05-14 16:08:57
In the fourth round of the French Grand Prix, Team Red Bull KTM’s Jack Miller led ahead of Marc Marquez on the Repsol-Honda. World champion Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) and Aprilia factory rider Maverick Vinales were fighting for third place when the collision occurred before turn 12.
Both riders fell and would have been at each other’s throats in the gravel trap had the marshals not separated them. The “FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel” rated the incident as a racing accident, as did many experts.
“We got in each other’s way in the worst place,” said Vinales when tempers had calmed down once more. “I overtook him very cleanly, but he might have given me a little more space when changing direction. I didn’t know where he was, he might see me a bit. But there are always different points of view, ultimately the stewards have to decide. For me it was a racing accident, nothing else. It’s a shame because we both got zero points. On a weekend where we had a lot of potential. I’m going home with a point following this weekend. On a track where we were fast – I was probably the fastest in the race.”
Bagnaia and Vinales were summoned to the FIM stewards and gave their perspective. They were only admonished to show respect.
“We are both among the cleanest drivers,” emphasized Vinales. “We will continue to meet on the track and fight each other in the future, then something like this can happen. But we remain fair.”
The Spaniard attributed the incident in the gravel trap to emotions and adrenaline. “I was so angry because I had the potential to win the race,” said Vinales. “Later we shook hands, we know that something like this can happen in racing. And we know how important respect between drivers is.”
Marco Bezzecchi won the race ahead of his Ducati colleagues Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco.
Results MotoGP race Le Mans/F:
1. Marco Bezzecchi (I), Ducati, 27 runs in 41:37,970 mins
2. Jorge Martin (E), Ducati, +4,256 sec
3. Johann Zarco (F), Ducati, +4,795
4. Augusto Fernández (E), KTM, +6.281
5. Aleix Espargaró (E), Aprilia, +6.726
6. Brad Binder (ZA), KTM, +13,638
7. Fabio Quartararo (F), Yamaha, +15,023
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (I), Ducati, +15.826
9. Takaaki Nakagami (J), Honda, +16,370
10. Franco Morbidelli (I), Yamaha, +17.828
11. Danilo Petrucci (I), Ducati, +29,735
12. Lorenzo Savadori (I), Aprilia, +36.125
13. Jonas Folger (D), KTM, +49,808
– Marc Márquez (E), Honda, 2 laps behind
– Jack Miller (AUS), KTM, 3 laps down
– Alex Rins (E), Honda, 13 laps back
– Joan Mir (E), Honda, 15 laps behind
– Luca Marini (I), Ducati, 22 laps behind
– Alex Márquez (E), Ducati, 22 laps behind
– Francesco Bagnaia (I), Ducati, 23 laps back
– Maverick Viñales (E), Aprilia, 23 laps behind
Results MotoGP Sprint Le Mans (13.05.):
1. Martin, Ducati, 13 Rdn in 19:59,037 min
2. Brad Binder, KTM, + 1,840 sec
3. Bagnaia, Ducati, +2,632
4. Marini, Ducati, + 3,418
5. Marc Marquez, Honda, +3,541
6. Zarco, Ducati, +4,483
7. Bezzecchi, Ducati, +5,224
8. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 6.359
9. Viñales, Aprilia, +8.336
10. Nakagami, Honda, +9,439
11. Kidneys, Honda, +12,388
12. Di Giannantonio, Ducati, + 14.125
13. Morbidelli, Yamaha, +15,121
14. Mir, Honda, +15,383
15. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 15,591
16. Petrucci, Ducati, + 19,415
17. Savadori, Aprilia, + 26,992
– Quartararo, Yamaha, 4 laps down
– Folger, KTM, 5 laps back
– Augusto Fernández, KTM, 8 laps down
– Miller, KTM, 12 laps back
Championship status following 10 of 40 races:
Bagnaia, 94 Punkte. 2. Bezzecchi 93. 3. Binder 81. 4. Martin 80. 5. Zarco 66. 6. Marini 54. 7. Viñales 49. 8. Miller 49. 9. Quartararo 49. 10. Rins 47. 11. Aleix Espargaró 42 12. Alex Márquez 41. 13. Morbidelli 40. 14. Augusto Fernández 30. 15. Di Giannantonio 25. 16. Oliveira 21. 17. Nakagami 21. 18. Dani Pedrosa (E), KTM, 13. 19. Marc Márquez 12. 20. Folger 7. 21. Mir 5. 22. Petrucci 5. 23. Michele Pirro (I), Ducati, 5. 24. Savadori 4. 25. Raúl Fernández (E), Aprilia, 3. 26. Stefan Bradl (D), Honda 2.
Constructors’ Championship:
1.Ducati, 174 Punkte. 2. KTM 103. 3. Aprilia 80. 4. Honda 73. 5. Yamaha 58.
Team World Cup:
1. Mooney VR46 Racing, 147 Punkte. 2. Prima Pramac Racing 146. 3. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 130. 4. Ducati Lenovo Team 104. 5. Aprilia Racing 91. 6. Monster Energy Yamaha 89. 7. LCR Honda 68. 8. Gresini Racing 66. 9. GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 37. 10. CryptoDATA RNF 28. 11. Repsol Honda 17.
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