Analyzes – Spanish GP – Triple downfall of Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa: whose fault is it? –

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Spanish GP – Triple downfall of Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa: whose fault is it ?

Analyzes - Spanish GP - Triple downfall of Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa: whose fault is it? -

Cruel Spanish GP for Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, all three forced to retire with seven laps to go after a collective fall that costs the Italian championship lead… Debriefing.

There were only seven laps to go yesterday on the Jerez circuit. Seven laps to complete the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix with a probable victory for Marc Marquez with his 2.2 seconds lead, but possibly embellished with a new duel with Andrea Dovizioso. Seven short laps that could allow Jorge Lorenzo – who started like a cannonball thanks to his daring choice of a soft tire up front – and Dani Pedrosa to return to the podium…

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But fate decided otherwise! In the 18th lap, at the entrance of turn 6, while Marc Marquez moves away at the head of the race, Andrea Dovizioso carries out the interior on his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who has been plugging him for several laps … like in Valencia last year! The Italian widens, the Mallorcan tries to cross again towards the rope to keep the advantage … but Dani Pedrosa who was following the two Ducati officials has already gotten inside !

The shock is inevitable: the Honda rider collides with Lorenzo who himself collides with Dovizioso, while Pedro takes off in an impressive high-side, leaving his motorcycle in the middle of the track. Such collective shocks – frequent in small categories – are extremely rare in MotoGP: in MNC’s memory, it is even a first during a dry race. !

The official Ducati team believes that "Jorge Lorenzo was hit by Dani Pedrosa in turn 6. His bike in turn hit his teammate’s bike, accidentally causing the other riders to fall. Andrea Dovizioso, stuck behind Lorenzo , tried to overtake him at the start of the 18th lap, but he widened in turn 6 and got involved in the incident between Lorenzo and Pedrosa which put the three men out of the race ".

Pedrosa: "The race direction does not seem to have understood well"

In the version of the HRC, the official Honda team notes that "Dani Pedrosa was involved in a crash with the Ducati riders, who both widened after an attempt to pass which resulted in contact on the Honda rider Repsol ". A little reductive all the same to summarize a clash caused at the base – even if it is obviously unintentional – by Pedrosa !

Dani Pedrosa, Honda Repsol (2nd in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "It is of course a huge disappointment. I drove well and I kept a very good pace, even though I was not completely comfortable with the acceleration and that overtaking was difficult for me", explains n ° 26 who still suffered from his wrist injury following his in Argentina.

Analyzes - Spanish GP - Triple fall of Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa: who is to blame? -

"I kept in contact with Dovi and Jorge trying to save my tires to improve my pace at the end of the race, or see if they made a mistake," continued Pedrosa. “In the end they did, they both widened. I kept the normal trajectory inside, but suddenly I felt a big shock and I went into a violent high-side. Unfortunately, it ended with the three of us falling "…

"I am very sad and disappointed for all of us because we had a good race that we finished with zero points, but also because all three of us are used to clean driving and we did not deserve this result. makes me even sadder and more disappointed is to see that the race direction does not seem to have understood very well how to handle these situations, nor how to make decisions about what happens on the track. I went to talk to them because I wanted to understand how they made their choices. There are a lot of people watching us and many other pilots take us as examples ".

"I asked them how they judged", details the small Catalan who is generally much more discreet. “Was I on the correct inside line? Yes. Did the other guys on the outside, who were making up for their mistakes, come back to the correct line? Yes. So who has the advantage in this case, the guy on the inside or those on the outside? The one on the inside. So who’s to blame? But I didn’t get an answer. They just told me they had already taken their decision and that if I didn’t agree with them – which I do – I could appeal against Jorge if I wanted. But that’s not what I want, I’m not asking Jorge be penalized. I just want them to understand properly what is happening on the track. ".

Dovizioso: "Dani jumped at the chance too quickly"

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team (8th in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "What a pity! On the one hand, I’m happy with the feeling I had on the bike, my speed and the way I handled the race. To start from behind and gain positions here in Jerez, almost turning as fast as Marquez who then won, it’s really a great satisfaction. But in the end, I come home without points and it’s a very negative result at the moment, because we are fighting against a rider and a motorcycle extremely strong so we can’t afford to lose 20 points ".

"About the incident, I braked to the limit because I had been trying to pass Lorenzo for several laps", recalls DesmoDovi: "I widened and I also made Jorge widen a little, Dani saw a opening and jumped at the chance too quickly. And bad luck, when they touched they dragged me with them "…

Lorenzo: "We can’t blame anyone"

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team (4th in qualifying and retirement in the race) : "I am really disappointed by this fall, especially since it involves three of the most fair-playing drivers in the entire world championship. That is why I do not wish to dwell on what happened It is clear that we were really unlucky but it was a fact of the race: Pedrosa attacked very quickly but I don’t think we can blame anyone, except for the lack Lucky. I’m especially sorry for Andrea and Ducati, as they are fighting for the title ".

Analyzes - Spanish GP - Triple fall of Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa: who is to blame? -

"I still derive satisfaction from the great race we had, from my brilliant start and our determination, as well as from the way we worked throughout the weekend. This race was a new stage in our development. and even if we are still two or three tenths missing, we are on the right track ".

Finally Valentino Rossi, questioned about this fact of the race, believes that "the responsibility is shared between the two Spaniards: Lorenzo could not see Dani and it was optimistic to come back (at the point of rope, Editor‘s note). But Pedrosa did not also not rated Jorge’s return. Let’s say when these things happen there can be a little bit of responsibility for both of them. ".

Site analysis : The addition of this MotoGP Spanish GP is particularly salty for Andrea Dovizioso, who leaves the reins of the championship to Marquez and downgrades to 5th place 24 points behind the leader behind Zarco, Viñales and Iannone … Jorge’s disappointment Lorenzo is also very understandable, he who seemed to have finally found the secrets of the success from which he even drew !

On the other hand, it is difficult to understand Dani Pedrosa’s attitude about what should be considered a race event. On the one hand, the Honda official repeats over and over again that he was opposed to any form of sanction against Lorenzo, but on the other hand he admits to having requested the race management because he finds it dangerous that Lorenzo has resumed his journey. ‘inward without checking if another pilot was coming behind…

"Mike Webb did not deign to receive me"

The n ° 26 seems to believe that this kind of actions should be punished in the future … but only for dangerous pilots! Lorenzo obviously finds favor in his eyes, since he includes him (as well as himself and Dovizioso) among the "cleanest" drivers on the field. Not easy to follow, all that…

Asked by the Spanish channel Movistar Sport, Pedrosa regrets that the race director, Mike Webb, did not even deign to receive him.

It should be noted, however, that in this type of action, the driver behind has a better overview and is therefore in the best position to manage the risks. And in this case, Pedrosa was really far when he attacked the two Ducatis, to the point of perhaps riding a little over his pumps….

Finally, concerning the fact of being stuck behind his teammate again – as in -, Dovizioso does not hold it against Lorenzo: "we are only in the fourth race, there can be no instructions for team. Jorge is doing his race, I mine and that’s perfectly normal for me ".

Analyzes - Spanish GP - Triple downfall of Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa: whose fault is it? -

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