Everything really happened in the Sprint MotoGP of Jerez de la Frontera. Among the fifteen falls, the contact involving Francesco Bagnaia stands out. The Ducati champion fell due to the optimistic entry of Brad Binder.
The dynamics of contact
The certainly not perfect conditions of the track after the rain that fell between last night and this morning gave rise to an uncertain Sprint to say the least. Despite the dry track conditions, there were some wet patches which upset the result of the first race of the weekend. At the beginning of the third lap Marco Bezzecchi he attempted the attack at the first braking point against Francesco Bagnaia for fourth position. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team rider finished slightly wide, thus granting his friend/rival the benefit of crossing paths.
Just at that moment the KTM RC16 appears inside the two Brad Binder. The South African driver had lost two positions in the space of a few corners to the detriment of the Gresini Racing pair. Binder had been overtaken by Marc Márquez on the lap before the “Angel Nieto”, thus losing the virtual 2nd place. The South African attempted to return the favor to the Spaniard at the final corner. However, Binder came wide, also taking the #93 wide: Álex Márquez took advantage of this and passed both of them. Binder, 4th on the finish line, was overtaken by Bezzecchi and Bagnaia. The #33 tried to get inside the two Ducatisti in a dubious maneuver to say the least, but which did not see any penalties from the Race Direction. It was Bagnaia himself who paid the price in the contact: the double world champion ended up in the scree, thus receiving a very heavy “zero” in terms of the world championship.
Binder’s point of view: “I took the normal trajectory”
In the course of average scrum post-race, Brad Binder had the opportunity to give his version of what happened. The South African had lost grip coming out of the last corner after the attempted attack on Marc Márquez, thus losing two positions to Bezzecchi and Bagnaia. According to what was told to the media present, Binder thought that both Ducatisti were going long, thus attempting to cross paths on what he defined as the normal trajectory.
I got off to a really good start thanks to an exceptional clutch release. After the straight without Turn 6 I realized that there were many more wet patches than I had seen on the formation lap. In the first laps I tried to pick up the pace. After the attack on Marc Márquez I lost grip, so the two Ducatis overtook me both on the right and on the left. I thought they both went long, like this I crossed following the normal trajectory that I take every lap. Bagnaia’s bike simply remained in the middle of mine and Bezzecchi’s. I felt a contact, but I only found out about the crash after the race.
The other bell, Bagnaia: “You can’t overtake two riders on the curb”
Decidedly more annoyed in the story is Francesco Bagnaia, who is once again the protagonist of a contact after the one in Portimão with Marc Márquez. It is useless to point out that the Italian is against his colleague Binder’s version, admitting that the Jerez track, due to its layout, always leads to more excited races.
In seven races, I crashed twice due to contact: not the best start to the season, but the wheel of fortune will turn in our favor. In my opinion a driver cannot try to overtake two others on the curb: there wasn’t the space. My race ended at the beginning of the 3rd lap, but before mine there were at least three/four other contacts. Jerez is narrow and with many slow corners: the layout of the track leads to the highest number of contacts. Overtaking in the Sprint is not calculated at all: at most you get too far and lean on your opponent. This is the strategy of many and it is difficult to manage.
The third wheel Bezzecchi: “It’s better if I don’t express myself”
The injured party involved in the contact, although with decidedly fewer consequences than the same brand, is Marco Bezzecchi. The #72 received a roll on his back from Bagnaia, moments before he ended up on the ground. “Bez” he explained in detail what happened, without then commenting on the failure to penalize Binder.
At first I didn’t really understand what had happened: I just felt a big blow on my back. Binder had been overtaken by both me and Bagnaia on the straight after the attack on Márquez. I tried to overtake both of them, managing to do so even though I ended up wide. However, I was convinced that I could close the pass because, despite the trajectories, we can go out with the same speed. I don’t want to say too much about these episodes: every time I do it, it breaks my ass. Better let the stewards do it.
Valentino Aggio
Read also: MotoGP | GP Spain, record for crashes in the Sprint: fifteen on the ground!
