Jack Miller says Pol Espargaro behaved “like an idiot” at Turn 1 on the opening lap of the MotoGP German Grand Prix, and this led to the collision involving the KTM rider and the Suzuki duo.
Espargaro was making his way from 15th on the grid alongside Miller, and tried to recover several spots around the outside of Turn 1, making slight contact with the Australian in the process.
The KTM rider collided with the rear of Andrea Iannone at Turn 2, forcing the Italian out wide while teammate Alex Rins was taken out by the crashing Espargaro, with Miller pushed off track as a result.
Miller rejoined the race and salvaged 14th, while Iannone was able to recover to finish just behind Tech3's Hafizh Syahrin in 12th.
“The crash wasn't from Iannone or Rins, the crash came from Pol Espargaro, a disgruntled Miller said.
“He came around the outside already like an idiot at Turn 1, trying to pass me, ran into me, and trying to pass three of us around the outside into Turn 2.
“So the crash was coming from a long way away.”
Iannone, who feels he lost “more than 10 places” due to the incident, added: “The race was over for me at Turn 3. I think Espargaro should have thought a bit more about what he was doing, because there isn’t space at that corner and he was completely on the kerb – there wasn’t a line there.
“I heard the bike behind me and I started to pick my bike up a bit because I expected there could be contact, that maneuver prevented me from crashing but my bike was damaged and I lost more than 10 places.
“I tried my best but it was difficult to make up positions. My lap time was not bad, I could have been in the top 5 to top 8 places.
“I understand that everyone wants to push hard in the early laps, but it’s more dangerous than ever in MotoGP now and people must be careful.”
Espargaro apologised to Rins for taking him down, but feels Iannone's “blocking” of the inside of Turn 3 led to the collision.
“It was a shame, this track is really, really narrow and on the second corner I was on the outside. I had some riders in the inside, and when you are going into the Turn 1 all the riders try to push the rider outside a little bit.
“At one stage I realise I was super wide, and I had no space to brake so much. Then I saw Iannone in the middle, he was blocking the inside so much and not carrying so much entry speed into the corner.
“I catch him from behind, luckily he didn't crash, but unluckily Rins, with my bike and my body, he crashed.
"We were super together. I apologise to Alex because he couldn't make his race, and I'm so sad because I think we had an opportunity here to show our colours."
