Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Alex Marquez has publicly responded to comments made by Joan Mir following their on-track clash at Motegi. The Spaniard was clear in his critique towards Joan Mir concerning the latter’s comments after the race.
“I was surprised by Mir’s reaction. Because what he said to me didn’t make sense to me at all [compared to] what I found in the press yesterday,” Marquez said, noting a slight disconnect between their personal exchange and Mir’s public statements after the race.
❌ @JoanMirOfficial and @alexmarquez73 are OUT!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 6, 2024
The incident is currently under investigation 👀#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/s0DHGofERn
While Marquez seemed ready to move past the collision, it was Mir’s subsequent media comments that stirred the pot. “When Joan spoke in the press, he got heated and didn’t make a lot of sense.”
“He was pissed off with race direction about the long lap [penalty that had not yet been announced],” added Marquez.
Only later was it announced, Marquez would have to serve a long-lap penalty at the Australian Grand Prix. Something the Spaniard isn’t all that happy about given that the decision is not in line with what happened to Jack Miller a week earlier.
Referencing the Aussie’s incident in Mandalika, where he caused a multi-rider pile-up on Lap 1 but went unpunished, Marquez explained:
“I was told that the reason was that I had ruined someone else’s race. But Jack Miller caused the crash at Mandalika, [‘ruined’ the race of three riders and didn’t get a penalty].”
Although deserving a penalty for the Motegi incident, the Spaniard is understandably angry about the stewards’ inconsistency, that’s been on display for several years now.
Many riders are fed up with the lack of concise and transparent decision-making by the stewards and hope that the switch at the helm of the FIM Stewards Panel coming in 2025 will improve the penalty processes massively.
