Honda rider Luca Marini believes his clash with Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez cost them both a chance at the MotoGP podium at the Indonesian Grand Prix.
Behind Gresini rider Fermin Aldeguer, a multi-rider battle unfolded for the final podium places, with Marini and Fernandez in contention midway through the race.
On Lap 14, Fernandez lunged past Marini into Turn 16, but Marini’s response around the outside at Turn 17 resulted in contact between the two, sending them both wide and promoting Alex Rins into podium contention.
For the rest of the race, Marini lost ground and finished fifth, with Fernandez just behind in sixth. After the race, the Italian didn’t mince words when sharing his perspective on the incident.
“I think Raul was not intelligent because me and him, apart from [Marco] Bez[zecchi] and Fermin, had the best pace of everybody and we could easily be on the podium, both together, and it would be a fantastic result for Aprilia and his team also,” said Marini to Autosport.
“It’s a pity for all the people that work really hard not to have a party tonight for this adventure.
“I was trying to overtake Pedro [Acosta] every lap in two to three places and it was just a matter of time. It was not a fantastic move from Raul.
“I closed my line because I knew he was there, I wanted to be in front to try again on Pedro because I was very fast and it was just a matter of laps I completed my move on Pedro.
“He is unhappy but he completely pushed me out. I don’t know what he wants another rider to do during a race, let him pass?
“It’s a little bit strange that he is angry because he lost just a position, I lost five. I’m the one who is angry about this.”
Fernandez had a completely different perspective, blaming Marini for changing his line when retaking the position.
“The result doesn’t say what we deserve this weekend,” he stated. “I have to tell you that during the race I was thinking to try to overtake [wherever I could].
“Maybe one of the moments during the race [where it went wrong for me] was when I touched Luca.
“I overtook him at Turn 16, but I was super clean to overtake him. I stopped the bike well, he tried to close the line more and in that moment he made something that maybe for me is not super, super intelligent.
“It is something you can do but it was not an intelligent move, because in that moment he saw that I was in the same position with him, he changed the line to put the bike inside.
“In that moment, I’m so sorry, I even had the bike to make the last curve and I touched with him.
“If at that moment I made my curve normally, maybe the history was a little bit different, but we don’t know.”
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