The Portimao accident between Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez continues to cause discussion: here is the champion’s opinion
Here we go again, someone must have thought. Simple coincidence – indeed according to several insiders this time ‘El Cabroncito’ would even be the victim of the accident – in the opinion of others. The Portuguese GPthe one held on the Portimao track in the last race of the premier class World Championship, saw the return of controversy surrounding the figure of Marc Marquez, protagonist of a controversial accident with the two-time world champion Pecco Bagnaia.
It all happened three laps from the end, when the Spaniard and the Turin driver were fighting for fifth place. An unusual situation for both, considering the status and aura of champions that the two have deserved over the course of their respective careers.
In a race marked by the difficulty of some Ducatis (the race was however won by Jorge Martin with Enea Bastianini second) Marquez and Bagnaia engaged in a duel which to most seemed almost like a fight for supremacy (especially in view of next year , when the champion from Cervera could arrive at Borgo Panigale as an official rider and not just as a customer motorbike rider) what else. There is no other way to explain, almost everyone here claims, such a bitter, close fight for a ‘trivial’ fifth place.
The fact is that there was a collision, there was an accident, with Bagnaia ending up off the track and Marquez able to continue, but not enough to get to the points. Therefore the Piedmontese withdrew, with the Catalan finishing 16th. A joke for both of them.
Mir, clear ideas on the Bagnaia-Marquez contact
Joan Mira Repsol Honda rider, faced a difficult race in Portimao, starting from twentieth position on the grid and finishing twelfth at the finish line.
The Spaniard gave a candid assessment of his racing experience in Portugal, touching on various topics including the controversial incident between Bagnaia and his compatriot.
“I reviewed the contact. This is what happens when you overtake, the other guy is very optimistic, he opens the throttle and you touch each other. And if you’re lucky, when you’re returning the position, you pull the other one. But in this case, I think it was a racing accident that can happen. They crashed, I don’t think anyone should be penalized. But in this case, it was Marc who got hurt, I think Marc was not at fault, he was on the outside and Pecco opened the gas, so they touched“, began Mir.
“I don’t think it was just an accident. If it had happened to me I would have been angry, of course I would have been. But then you analyze it all and say ‘it’s a race’. We don’t want this kind of thing to be censored, because it’s what we do for a living and it’s what we like,” concluded the native of Palma de Mallorca.
