2023-08-20 05:55:00
Luca Marini was one of the beneficiaries of the early stages of the Spielberg MotoGP sprint. The Italian avoided the mess at Turn 1, then went past Jack Miller (Red Bull-KTM) and cruised around the track in P3 on the Mooney VR46-Ducati for a long time. He then defended himself cleverly against Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati), but the Spaniard didn’t give up. After Martin’s attack in front of the new chicane, Marini slid away – right in front of brother Valentino Rossi!
Curious: When Marini saw the crash scene on the screen in the box, he spoke and gestured in front of the camera. When asked about this, the Italian later did not want to comment further. But he said this much: “We improved, I felt very strong in the sprint. Jack was very strong at the beginning, as always. It’s also hard to overtake the KTM. I put a little too much strain on the rear tire with it. Martin then tried to drive past.”
Then Marini scolded: «Once again it is not clear why and how the stewards decide! In my opinion, Jorge doesn’t need to be there. His turn 1 action was more dangerous. It was bad luck for me, he touched me with his foot on the handlebars. Of course he didn’t want me to fall over. I chose another line and he certainly didn’t want that either. We know that the sport is dangerous and there are severe penalties for such moves.”
“This incident at Turn 2 deserves a penalty! My accident might not have had to happen. Jorge made a mistake on the brake before Turn 1. It’s always critical at the start – for everyone! At that moment, the stewards have to be ready and analyze it as best they can so that everyone can continue the race in the best possible and fair way.”
“Il Maro” whined: “The problem is the consistency of the penalties and how they interpret the rules. It would be nice if they try to find a solution. At the beginning everything was very strict with the penalties, even if there were no falls. Then they took it a little easier – I think it was after Portimão. Pushing someone out doesn’t deserve punishment, even in my opinion. Accidents with falls were penalized.”
“Fabio’s maneuver against Savadori gave him a long lap penalty, so why not in the case of Turn 1? Why is there a penalty for Fabio but not in other situations?”
Marini describes: “You drive your own first corner, okay. But you have to think that there are six bikes in front of you in the curve. I don’t want to talk much more about it, I’ve explained everything. I only saw the incident once.”
Maverick Viñales, who has slightly changed his line, does not see Marini as an obligation. The young husband says: “I would punish the driver who caused the collision and not the driver who draws the line a little narrower. That often happens. The driver who triggers this has to be penalized – and today it might be Jorge, then someone else. The stewards just have to make the right decision – it’s not clear at the moment! It’s halfway through the World Cup and there are still no identical penalties for similar incidents.”
Then, when asked if he should have put the bike up before the chicane, Marini replied: “Why should I put the bike up? I gave him the space anyway and had no idea that he would touch me with the footrest. It is not possible for one driver to overtake another. I saw him at the last moment and then tried not to let him touch me, but it wasn’t possible.”
What did brother Valentino say about the bitter end of the sprint? “I can’t remember exactly,” he laughed. ‘No, joking aside. I was fast and consistent in the sprint – it’s a shame! I could have been on the podium on Saturday.”
MotoGP Results Sprint, Spielberg (19 August):
1. Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati, 14 Runden in 21:01,844 min
2. Brad Binder, KTM, + 2,056 sec
3. Jorge Martin, Ducati, +5,045
4. Alex Márquez, Ducati, + 8,252
5. Jack Miller, KTM, + 11,365
6. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +11,816
7. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, + 11.960
8. Maverick Vinales, Aprilia, +11,984
9. Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha, +13,634
10. Marc Marquez, Honda, +14,435
11. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +15.251
12. Joan Mir, Honda, +16,740
13. Aeneas Bastianini, Ducati, +18.825
14. Raul Fernandez, Aprilia, +19,536
15. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, +22,321
16. Iker Lecuona, Honda, +25,593
17. Augusto Fernández, KTM, + 25,789
– Johann Zarco, Ducati, 3 laps down
– Luca Marini, Ducati, 8 laps down
– Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia, 9 laps behind
– Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, 12 laps down
– Marco Bezzecchi, Ducati, 13 rounds back
– Miguel Oliveira, Aprilia, 1st lap not finished
Championship status after 19 of 41 races:
1. Bagnaia, 226 Punkte. 2. Martin 180. 3. Bezzecchi 167. 4. Binder 140. 5. Zarco 122. 6. Aleix Espargaró 110. 7. Marini 107. 8. Miller 95. 9. Alex Márquez 81. 10. Viñales 76. 11. Quartararo 65. 12. Morbidelli 60. 13. Augusto Fernández 49. 14. Rins 47. 15. Oliveira 40. 16. Di Giannantonio 37. 17. Nakagami 34. 18. Bastianini 18. 19. Marc Márquez 15. 20. Raúl Fernández 14 21. Pedrosa 13. 22. Savadori 9. 23. Folger 9. 24. Pol Espargaró 8. 25. Mir 5. 26. Pirro 5. 27. Petrucci 5. 28. Stefan Bradl 5.
Constructors’ Championship:
1.Ducati, 329 Punkte. 2. KTM 181. 3. Aprilia 156. 4. Honda 89. 5. Yamaha 85.
Team World Cup:
1. Prima Pramac Racing, 302 Punkte. 2. Mooney VR46 Racing 274. 3. Ducati Lenovo Team 254. 4. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 235. 5. Aprilia Racing 186. 6. Monster Energy Yamaha 125. 7. Gresini Racing 118. 8. LCR Honda 84. 9. GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, 66. 10. CryptoDATA RNF 58. 11. Repsol Honda 20.
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