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MotoGP, Bezzecchi: "Vinales could have made sure I was okay instead of insulting me"

"In his place I would have done it. I didn't like his behavior, at the medical center he told me everything was okay, then to reporters he said something else. Physically I am fine but I feel a lot of pain, no excuses, today's crash was my mistake. I am frustrated, the weekend had started well, I hope to make up for it in Thailand."

MotoGP: Bezzecchi:

There is disappointment in the words of Marco Bezzecchi, who had established himself over the Australian weekend as one of the top riders, even producing a good qualifying that saw him 4th on the grid. However, the unfortunate crash that involved him along with Vinales in Saturday's sprint marred the overall mood of his weekend.

In the race, the start was good, then a mistake on the third lap relegated him to behind the GP24 of Bastianini, the long lap imposed on him for the incident with Vinales, a wide and a slide finally forced him to conclude the race in the rear, although the Italian tends to point out that the aftermath of the crash in the sprint did not affect events. What remains then, irrespective of the results, is certainly the disappointment for a missed opportunity, combined with the aftermath of Vinales' declarations to reporters that attacked him hard-nosedly for the episode in the Sprint. The Rimini man, who had been taken to Melbourne yesterday for further checks, then explained his reasons, recounting the episode from his point of view.

"I am fine even if physically I feel pain - reassures Marco - but in the race I made a small mistake and the crash was due to that and not to my physical condition."

Marco Bezzecchi then returns to the incident between him and Vinales in the sprint.
"It was a strange situation, Maverick passed me taking advantage of the slipstream, and the air shift moved my bike to the left, forcing me to lean the bike slightly to get back on the line, even though the wind was working in the opposite direction. The problem is that in all of this he was right in front of my bike, moreover he anticipated the braking and you can see from the video that he gave an anticipatory pinch before braking again. At that moment I was still moving to the right, I was sucked into his wake and there was nothing I could do to avoid contact."

Obviously, the Italian rider disagrees with the long lap inflicted on him for the incident.
"It's clear that I don't agree because I would have preferred not to receive any penalty, but I understand that it was a difficult decision. Normally it is whoever is behind that makes the mistake, but last year there were similar cases like in Qatar between Pecco and Diggia or in Valencia between Martin and Pecco, although here in Phillip Island maybe the situation was accentuated by the track conditions. These are situations that can happen in the end. Of the penalty itself I don't care and I didn't complain, what I didn't like was Vinales' behavior."

They say Vinales braked as he did on the previous lap while you left.
"The data says that he anticipated 120 meters, I could not stay still with 120 meters of track so I had to give a touch of gas to get back in, but I was not at 100% I was at 70%, and then I braked, but from what I saw he braked twice."

Did you have a chance to confront Maverick?
"We talked at the medical center and I told him what I told you. He told me that there was no problem and that the important thing was that we were both okay. Then he went to the interviews and said something else. I don't care, in the end what really matters is that we are both okay, especially me. I feel sorry for him but my accident was more critical. Then I didn't like his behavior immediately afterwards, on the other side I would have made sure of the other rider's condition instead of giving the middle finger and telling me to fuck off."

You went to Melbourne for a medical checkup.
"Yes, we did a scan, for the doctor it was important but at first I didn't agree because I wanted to make sure I could race. Dr. Chartre calmed me down and we had another safety checkup this morning."

It was not the best of weekends.
"I am frustrated, the weekend had started well, in the sprint I felt competitive. Today the plan was to try to follow Martin and until the long lap I was in the perfect position. When I found myself behind Bastianini unfortunately I went wide and crashed. It was a shame, we will have Thailand to try to make up for it."

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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