Zarco: Nakagami lost all the credit we gave to him, that’s a pity

After making a brilliant start, Nakagami lost control of his LCR Honda under braking for turn one and in the process wiped out Rins and championship contender Francesco Bagnaia. 

In what was a violent impact as Nakagami’s head bounced off the rear tyre of Bagnaia, both Rins and the Ducati rider were left with nowhere to go. 

After several laps passed, race direction released information regarding the incident saying that it was a ‘racing incident’ and that no penalties would be handed out. 

Martin calls out the MotoGP stewards!

However, Jorge Martin, who himself was penalised to the tune of a three-place grid penalty in Mugello - was forced wide because of a move from another rider and ended up in the gravel trap before re-joining the circuit and being deemed to have impeded Maverick Vinales - feels the stewards need to be more objective and not favour certain riders. 

Speaking after his Catalunya podium, Martin said: "For me they need to be more objective. Not just to some riders [thy penalise], and some riders no [they don’t]. I got penalised for some silly thing in Mugello then I explained to them and it seemed they understood but they did nothing. 

"Now we have a big crash that can be dangerous for a lot of people, not only for the others but also for Nakagami in this case. But it seems like they did nothing. 

"They need to do the same with everybody. It seems like they have some rules but that it depends on the situation and they make different things for different riders. They need to be more objective and do the same with everybody."

Nakagami has ‘lost all the credit we gave him’ says Zarco 

While Zarco took a slightly different approach to the incident, the Prima Pramac Ducati rider also felt Nakagami was to blame.

"In Mugello Rins asked for our opinion on the accident that they had together," added Zarco. "We almost all agreed that Nakagami made no mistake in Mugello and we were agreeing with the stewards that you cannot penalise Nakagami in that case. 

"Even though in some cases Nakagami can be quite aggressive overtaking, he was not making a huge mistake. But today he lost all the credit that we gave to him in the safety commission. 

"That’s a pity for him because now - I don’t know what they’re going to say, but he has lost all his credit and that’s a pity for him." 

Martin gifted second place after Aleix Espargaro blunder

One of the shocks of Sunday’s Grand Prix was the howler that came from Espargaro. With the Aprilia rider in position to secure second, Espargaro suddenly slowed across the finish line as he believed the race to be over.

However, there was still a lap remaining. 

Martin was so surprised that he thought Espargaro blew his engine: "I thought he broke the engine. I even closed [gas] on the straight because I remember Pecco [Bagnaia] he broke in Jerez 2020 and I just closed because it was really hot and I just wanted to finish; I had a second to Zarco and said ‘okay let’s just finish’ and I got a podium."