“A big mess” - Unseen incidents shake up opening lap of Aragon MotoGP Sprint
Joan Mir, Enea Bastianini, Franco Morbidelli and Luca Marini were all caught up in opening-lap incidents during the Aragon MotoGP Sprint.
While attention was focused on Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi at the front of the Aragon MotoGP Sprint, a hectic opening lap saw contact between several riders and another crash out.
The first incident involved Joan Mir and Enea Bastianini, who started from 15th and 16th respectively.
“Enea hit me in corner three, and then I went into the run-off area, and in that corner you lose a lot of time if you go out,” said Mir, who recovered to 16th.
“So my race in that moment changed completely. I had to overtake, stay patient, and finish the race to take good information for tomorrow.
“The reality is that once I got free air in front of me, I was able to stay in the mid-47s. I made my best of 47.4 on the [penultimate lap]. It's not fantastic but it's a top seven, top eight pace. That is the maximum I could do today.”
Bastianini was then involved in another contact, this time with Franco Morbidelli, a few corners later.
“The start was not so bad, but when I tried to overtake Franco (Morbidelli), he came toward me and we had some contact” said Bastianini. “The guys told me Luca (Marini) crashed just behind me, so the first lap was quite strange.
"When you start further back, the chances of being in a bit of a mess are higher.
“After, the race was not so bad. In the middle I was quite fast, but after, my front tyre dropped like always, and I lost some positions," added Bastianini, who finished 14th.
Morbidelli completed the opening lap in 19th and also described the early action as “a big mess”.
“In the sprint, it was a big mess,” said the VR46 rider. “I got some contact in Turn 5 in the first lap, then I went wide in Turn 12. Then I was struggling to come up, I couldn't really do anything.”
Marini later confirmed his crash had happened without contact.
“I crashed by myself between turn five and six, it was quite a hard fall, and I have quite some pain at the moment but no major issues. We will rest now and see what’s possible on Sunday.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
