Bagnaia “not angry” with Vinales after Le Mans MotoGP clash

MotoGP championship leader Francesco Bagnaia says he is “not angry” with Maverick Vinales after the pair collided in a “racing incident” in the French Grand Prix.

Vinales and Bagnaia were battling over third place on the fifth lap of Sunday’s grand prix at Le Mans when the Aprilia rider threw his bike up the inside of Bagnaia at Turn 11.

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He ran wide and Bagnaia cut back to his inside, but as they changed direction for Turn 12 the pair collided and both ended up on the deck. There was a brief spat in the gravel, but nothing came of it and the stewards did not punish either of the riders.

The crash saw Bagnaia’s championship lead cut to one point after Marco Bezzecchi won the race, but the Ducati rider is not upset with Vinales over what he feels is a racing incident.

“No, I’m not angry with Maverick,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com about the incident. “I didn’t like the reaction [from him in the gravel] because, for me, it was a bit too aggressive. But when you have that adrenaline, it can happen.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Marc Fleury

“When you crash because you were hit by a rider, or when you crash when you hit other riders, you are more angry because you feel like you’ve ruined your race or you’ve ruined a rider’s race. So, I’m not angry with him. I consider this like an unlucky circumstance, a racing incident. So, I’m not angry with him.”

Vinales felt Bagnaia could have left him with a bit more room as they changed direction from Turn 11 to 12, but shares the Ducati rider’s feeling on the incident.

“Unfortunately, we collided in the worst place,” Vinales said. “It’s a shame because I passed him very clean, but, from my point of view, he could have left a bit of space in this change of direction. But it’s a shame because we both took a zero, and on a weekend where we felt we had a lot of potential.

“I didn’t know where the other rider was, I think he could see me a little bit when he changed direction. But it’s always complicated, we have a different point of view, I think the stewards need to decide. But, at the end, for me, it’s a racing incident. It’s nothing more than that.”