MotoGP riders reflect on French GP – Jack Miller extended cut

MotoGP 2023

Round Five – Le Mans

Marco Bezzecchi – P1

“I expected the penalty. I didn’t want to pass but I braked a bit too late and when I realized I was getting closer and closer, I tried to go to the inside to not hit him. Unfortunately I pushed him wide so I thought for sure they give me a drop position. I was ready for it and I agree, also. It was a bit too much. It’s difficult to pass but I didn’t really want to pass, but it’s ok. Fortunately I kept myself calm about the penalty I knew was coming, tried to find the right place to give up the position and then fight back.

“I saw I was fast, at the beginning I didn’t want to use the front tyre too much or put too much temperature in it. When I was behind someone, I was trying to pass quite quick and when I found myself at the front I thought, ‘now I have fresh air’. I tried to push and see how it is. On Friday I had good pace so I tried to make the same but it was even better! I was able to ride 31.9, 31.8 and it was fantastic. I saw I was escaping so I tried to stay calm and concentrate, at one with my bike, and it was an incredible emotion crossing the line in the dry. In the wet was good but in the dry even better!

“This is the thing I’m most happy about. I made this bet first in December before Christmas with my team, we were having dinner together and to break their balls a little bit I said ‘ok, you all have a long beard but if I win, you have to make it moustache and we won’t shave it until I win again. But then when I did win I said, ‘No! Now I have to really have a moustache!’ I was so nervous because it wasn’t coming anymore, so fortunately today when I saw the feeling was good, I said ‘today’s the day!”

Augusto Fernandez – P4

“I’m so happy. After the quali I had the crash in the Sprint and then also in Warm-up so I was missing some confidence but I knew I had the pace to fight for something in the race nice. I wasn’t expecting this though! I made the right choice with the front tire and I want to thank the team for all their work, not only here but all season, and we are going in the right direction, so let’s keep pushing.”

Aleix Espargaro – P5

“The first thing I did today was apologise to the team for the mistake in qualifying, which did not make things easy in the two races. I started well today and then there was the usual chaos so I lost time trying to avoid it and found myself rather far back. I recovered and I had a great pace. Toward the end, I would have been able to have a go with Augusto but it wasn’t worth the risk of ruining his great race too. The good thing is that the RS-GP continues to be fast on every track and that is the most important thing. Now we’ll recharge and get ready for the upcoming races.”

Brad Binder – P6

“I had a really good feeling for the race and had a fantastic start but unfortunately in Turn 4 someone hit the side of me and I went from 6th-7th all the way back outside the top twenty. A tough one and then a tough fight to come through. I chipped away slowly but surely until I got an amazing slipstream on Jack and overshot the mark into Turn 9. I had to make a decision to save it and just shot across the inside of the chicane. I didn’t drop back far enough and from that mistake I had a Long Lap penalty: if bad luck comes in ‘threes’ then I think I spent them this race! It was important to keep my head down then and bring the bike home.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“I don’t view this as a recovery race because six riders crashed ahead of me. I had a physical issue halfway through the race. This morning I had been to the Clinica: I had treatment on my arm, but for me it was too aggressive. I never had this issue with my arm after treatment in the past, but today I had arm pump from the middle of the race on. I could have been much, much faster. But that‘s actually a positive that I take away from today: we could have gone faster with the bike in the race. The plan for Mugello for our crew is that we keep using the same setting as today. I feel disappointed that I could have gotten a better result and could have had a better pace, but it’s also true that today and yesterday in the Sprint, my pace was not so bad. I think without my physical problem I could have been 0.5s faster in the race, because I was not able to brake in a few braking zones. But again, in a way, that’s positive.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P8

“I’m very happy. We had a weekend in which we kept improving and today the feeling with the bike was excellent. We fought, I had what it takes to play my cards right and I was able to battle with Quartararo for almost the whole race. The feeling keeps improving and we’re on the right track. I expect a further step forward at Mugello.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P9

“It’s been a tough race as from the first lap, I struggled to find the best feeling to push. I was quite on the limit and managed the situation to avoid mistakes or crashes. Our goal was the Top10 and we’ve taken it, we’ve done a good job. It was difficult at the braking areas. We’ll analyse the data to take a step forward in Mugello because we know we have potential”.

Franco Morbidelli – P10

“It was a tough race. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good start, and when I was behind a group my front tyre pressure and temperature went sky-high and I couldn’t attack anymore. The pace improved again when I had clear track in front of me. We need to keep digging and keep working because our performance is not yet at the level we want it to be.”

Danilo Petrucci – P11

“Riding the bike on Friday and learning everything quickly was not easy, but I had a great team by my side that helped me so much. Being able to race this Grand Prix was like a dream: I relived a big chapter of my life, and being here was a great gift from Ducati. Today’s race was tough: the track was very slippery, and there were a lot of crashes. We got some points, and I am happy about that. I thank all the guys for their great work and Ducati for allowing me to experience this exciting weekend.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P12

“The race was quite good. Compared to yesterday, I improved my feeling on the bike a lot and also used a different front tyre. I did a little mistake in the second lap and lost three seconds to the group in front of me. After that, I reduced the gap to one second and started to fight. The problem happened in the last eight laps when my right arm was completely finished and I couldn’t manage the bike anymore the way I’m used to for the rest of the race. Overall, I’m quite happy. On Friday I tried some stuff for Aprilia, so my weekend really started on Saturday and my timing also improved. I’m happy with the results and would like to thank Aprilia and the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team.”

Jonas Folger – P13

“Final day of the GP and I’m happy to get some points but I was hoping for better pace. I was struggling again a bit at the start, with the new tires, and by the end I’m improving my lap–time which is a bit strange but I will use the next test to look at this. I’m happy to have raced here and to be with the team. I’d like to thank everybody for taking care of me. It was a pleasure.”

Jack Miller – DNF

“That was a weekend in France that started off about as well as it could have, and then went pretty downhill after that. Leaving Le Mans with zero points after that … yeah, that’s a tough one to swallow.

“I’ve always liked Le Mans, I’ve enjoyed the circuit and had some pretty good success here, and it was all pointing in the right direction with P1 in both Friday practice sessions, and then fourth on the grid was the best a KTM had ever done around here. It definitely didn’t work out after that, that’s for sure. It’s really disappointing for myself and the team, they’ve been doing a fantastic job and the bike was amazing all weekend, so for us to come away from this with no points is a bit of a bummer.

“It’s such a historic track here, when you think of racing Le Mans is always one of the tracks that pops into your mind with the 24 Hours here and so on. And the crowd here is always something amazing, they’re always out in full force. I did a lap in the car outside the track on Wednesday when I got here, and the campgrounds were already filling up even then – it’s always an amazing atmosphere in France. As a place to have a 1000th Grand Prix for MotoGP, a big milestone for the sport, it felt right.

“Saturday was unfortunate, crashing so early in the sprint race when I was in a good position, third place. Probably made a mistake with the front tyre choice, to be honest. I’d done 27 laps in the morning practice with the soft front and had raced it here last year too, but we went with the medium front with the temperature coming up, and I wasn’t really that comfortable from the get-go.

“Still being new to KTM, listening to the input of Michelin … look, you pick up information from everywhere to build your intel going into the race, but that was one of those things that happens when you’re still new to somewhere and you don’t know your own way or trust your own way 120 per cent. I listened maybe more to some of the information that was around me than I should have, if I’m being honest. But the good thing this year is that when you have a bad sprint race, you immediately get a chance to try to make up for it on Sunday. That was the theory anyway …

“I was always going to go for the soft tyre after the decision I’d made for the sprint, because even if I had to struggle or had a little less performance towards the end of the race, at least I’d have confidence in the front of the bike the whole way through. I felt like I had decent pace, but when the other boys came past it seemed like they were able to knock it up a gear, and as the race went on I was fading a little bit, just trying not to use the left-hand side of the tyre. I felt like I had a little bit more there at the end and had just done my personal best, but I used too much kerb on the inside of Turn 4 and that was all she wrote.

“This one will sting for a bit to be honest, and we have to wait a few weeks to get over it because Mugello isn’t for another three weeks. You just want to get back on and make amends after that, but the positives are the bike is fast – it was fast as soon as we rolled her out here – and I get to learn all the time with weekends like this. I mean, it’s only five races into my time at KTM and I’m planning on playing the long game…”

Marc Marquez – DNF

“I am really happy with the race today; I was able to ride like I rode a long time ago and I was really able to enjoy being on the bike. Unfortunately, the final result is not what we wanted, but I spent the whole race fighting and pushing the limit. We have had a really busy weekend doing a lot of work and a podium would have been a great reward, especially for my team who have continued to work at their maximum. We still need to find a bit more to fight like this every weekend. In terms of the crash, I fell at Turn 7 but it started at Turn 6 when I had a lot of shaking and I didn’t arrive with the perfect line. I think we had a real MotoGP race today; it was a great show for all the fans who came here this weekend.”

Francesco Bagnaia – DNF

“It was an unfortunate circumstance, a race incident that perhaps we could have avoided if Maverick had closed his line less and I had left more room to enter, but in any case, these are things that can happen. We met with the stewards, which was a positive meeting that will allow us to improve in the future. Today we were fast, and at that moment, I was waiting for the right moment to attack and then push, but unfortunately, it went like that, and I am sorry. Now we have three weeks before the next race in Mugello, a crucial appointment on a circuit where we won a beautiful GP last year.”

Maverick Vinales – DNF

“I’m angry, not so much about what happened but because of the lost opportunity. I felt really strong today and I’m sure I would have been battling for the win. It was one of those races where, as a rider, you just feel like you have a little something more. Bagnaia and I are two professional riders. It was an unfortunate contact and the adrenaline of the moment had us heated up, but the one thing that is clear is that we riders – all of us – need to settle down and be an example for the young people. The regret remains but no controversy. It happened and we’ll keep looking forward as early as Mugello. Here in Le Mans we demonstrated once again that we are extremely fast and we improved a lot of things this weekend.”

Alex Rins – DNF

“I made a good start and was trying to recover positions as we had found something that made me feel comfortable on the bike, but after the 14th lap, the front end got closed, and I crashed. I was struggling with the rear side of the bike. However, this is part of racing, and we’ll keep pushing in Mugello”.

Joan Mir – DNF

“I made a really good start to the race and I was able to ride comfortably in the opening laps. When you are battling with the top ten and in a big group, there’s a really big slipstream effect and it becomes harder to stop the bike. I stood the bike up to avoid hitting Aleix and this is where the mistake came from and I lost the group. Then I tried some different things with the bike and I unfortunately fell. But I was able to ride in low 32s, this is really important and the thing that we have to focus on. We take these positives, study everything well and prepare for the next race.”

Luca Marini – DNF

“What a pity, the accident is really bad to see on TV, so hard but fortunately everything went well. I just have a lot of pain in my hands and fingers, I got stuck with the handlebar and then the impact with the asphalt was also bad. In any case, I’m fine, I just need to recover and now there are three weeks before Mugello. A good start of the race, everything was under control, I was very fast and the overtakings were aggressive, but not out of control. I touched the curb too much, but I managed to avoid the crash. I was very happy with the save but then I felt something from behind. I don’t blame Alex (Marquez), in his position he couldn’t do anything else. He was in the process of overtaking and he was very close to me and Marco. A normal racing accident.”

Alex Marquez – DNF

“I’m leaving Le Mans with very positive feelings with the bike. I approached the first turns well; I was aggressive but still between the boundaries. Then I was able to get in touch with the leading group and the idea was to wait a little bit, but it didn’t go as I had hoped. Marini made a mistake and crashed, Bezzecchi behind him was able to avoid him, but there was nothing I could do. I am perfectly fine, which is something, but we surely have been missing a bit of luck in this early season.”

Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“We got a double top 10 today after a difficult weekend. These results are not what we were aiming for, but considering our starting positions, these were the maximum results we could get today. Fabio suffered arm pump during the race, which hampered his riding and result, but his pace was still decent. It, of course, means a lot to him that after yesterday‘s NC he had a chance to score points in front of his home fans and end the weekend on a high note. Franky also had a difficult race. His pace was not that far from what we were aiming for, but it was affected by the high temperatures of the front tyre when riding behind others. We can‘t be satisfied with our current performance. The only way to improve this situation is by putting in the work. We now have three weeks until the GP in Mugello, the first of three back-to-back races.”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“A positive weekend even if we did not get what we deserved today. Brad had contact on the first lap and was as far down as 18th and he recovered as strong as usual, even with a dubious Long Lap penalty. We have to analyse Jack’s crash as it was strange. It was a good weekend with both riders into Q2 on Friday and we’ll look forward to the next GP with confidence. We have two fantastic riders in this team and we will keep supporting them to the maximum, from the first to the last person in the factory and from the team mechanics to any person who touches this MotoGP effort. Many congratulations to Augusto [Fernandez] as this is another sign that our group project is going in the right direction.”

Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager

“What an emotional conclusion to the weekend. A super-good result from Augusto and we knew he could make a good result here but he’d suffered some crashes and it was going up-and-down. We made a reset after warm-up and made some little changes on the bike. We went for it, and he had an amazing race to reach 4th, just 1.5 seconds from the podium which is a great achievement for a rookie. We’re so happy. Jonas had a difficult race and couldn’t get a good rhythm but stayed up when many others could not. He ended-up with a decent position and that’s what we needed from him. A big thanks to the team and for all the hard work from the mechanics this weekend and from the factory, as always. We are already looking forward to Mugello.”

Pablo Nieto – Mooney VR46 Racing Team Manager

“A masterful race by Marco, the best way to celebrate the 1000th GP in MotoGP history. He took the lead and set an impressive pace throughout the race, he made no mistakes and proved that he can really make a difference when he pays attention to the details. He has always struggled a bit at the start, even yesterday, while today he was practically perfect. The best way to arrive to Mugello, the first of our home races where we will meet all our fans and partners who support us in this project. A real pity for Luca, what a fatality. He was there fighting for the podium and he could have done a great race. Luckily just a big crash to get back competitive at his home GP.

Razlan Razali – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Principal

“Initially this weekend was a weekend we would like to forget, to get it over and done with, go on a three week’s break and come back in Mugello in the hopes that we have two fully fit riders. But, this weekend ended up to be a positive weekend with four points in the bag. Lorenzo did a good job stepping in for Miguel and being the solo rider for the team, he did an excellent job for the team. Being a test rider is not easy, everyone is super fast, but he has shown that he is a rider that can deliver when it is being asked from him. So, we are happy with the four points and a positive weekend and we would like to thank Lorenzo Savadori for his contribution. Now, we are on a long break and we wish that Miguel and Raul recovers to be fit for Mugello.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Manager

“It has been a very difficult weekend for us. With Raul being declared fit on Thursday, but after a couple of laps in Practice 1, it was quite clear; he didn’t have any pain but also no power to ride fast, so he decided to withdraw and focus fully on Mugello. For Miguel, he was replaced by Lorenzo, and Lorenzo actually struggled quite a bit on Friday and Saturday, he could not really feel the bike. But today, the weather improved a lot and we made some adjustments for him on the bike, and he did a good race. He was much faster than yesterday during the Sprint Race and he finished with four points. We need to thank him and we’re very happy about his work. To finish in P12 in this class is a good job.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta – CEO of Dorna Sports

“All weekend the atmosphere here in Le Mans has been incredible, so we knew the attendance was going to be high. But to break the all-time record and see it’s well over quarter of a million people is something truly special. We’d like to thank PHA Claude Michy for the incredible event they stage every year at Le Mans, truly one of the highlights on the calendar, and my final word, of course, goes to our fans. Thank you all for your passion and love for this sport. You’ve made it a truly historic day here for MotoGP, and at the 1000th FIM Grand Prix!”

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