Mir feels like 'movie villain' over Quartararo suit comments
MotoGP world champion Joan Mir says he’s “looking like the bad guy in a film” over comments he made about the Fabio Quartararo suit incident at the Catalan Grand Prix.
Quartararo rode the final laps of the Barcelona race two weeks ago with his Yamaha leathers open after an apparent issue – though an investigation by Alpinestars found no problems with his race suit.
Suzuki rider Mir was critical of Quartararo throwing away his chest protector, saying at the time that the Frenchman endangered the riders around him when he discarded it and this warranted punishment.
Quartararo was later hit with a controversial three-second time penalty for the incident, which dropped him to sixth in the race result.
Mir has since clarified his comments, saying at the time he'd only seen one replay but feels he is being singled out for simply being honest.
"Yes, I'm probably looking like the bad guy, but I don't think I'm saying anything that we don't all think," he said on Friday at the German GP.
"I don't want Fabio to be penalised, neither do I and I don't think anyone else does.
"The only thing I said was that if he had really taken off his breastplate, that was dangerous.
"But if later, when you look at the images, you can see that it fell off, that's another story.
"It's true that I'm looking like the bad guy in the film, but I'm just trying to be honest, say what I think and always be objective."
Mir ended Friday's running at the Sachsenring down in 16th having encountered "some trouble with feeling" on his Suzuki in the hot afternoon conditions.
However, he doesn't believes his position reflects his true potential and feels he made a mistake on his time attack run by using the medium front tyre instead of the hard.
Teammate Alex Rins had a far more enjoyable day, ending up fourth fastest despite having surgery on a broken right arm just two weeks ago.
"Looks a bit difficult but I'm quite happy because putting away the pain I was able to complete all the programme, I was able to make the tests with the different tyre compounds, different set-ups," Rins said.
"So, I'm quite happy for this. In terms of the hand, I felt a bit of pain, for sure a lot on corner three, change of direction to corner four, five, on hard brakes.
"From FP1, to FP2 I didn't take any painkillers and I was struggling a little bit.
"But this track is one I really enjoy and I was able to be quite fast.
"I will take one [painkiller] today to sleep, because it looks a bit inflamed.
"But looks better than I expected: in terms of pain it's what I expected, but in terms of position it's better than expected."
Related video
Marquez “cannot imagine” being in Rossi’s current position
New KTM chassis "not a game changer" – Oliveira
How Quartararo cast aside prior doubts to become MotoGP's new king
Doubts were cast over Yamaha’s French recruit after his disastrous end to the 2020 MotoGP season with Petronas SRT, but Fabio Quartararo answered them convincingly in 2021 to claim a MotoGP title that exhibited both his devastating speed and mental strength
The Rossi-less future MotoGP must now navigate
Motorcycle racing's greatest showman has left the stage, as Valentino Rossi calls time on his remarkable career on two wheels. But in his successors, all of whom were inspired by 'the Doctor', grand prix racing has vibrant new acts to keep us hooked
Valentino Rossi’s 10 greatest MotoGP races
As the Italian legend finally bows out and retires from MotoGP, it marks the end of one of the most incredible careers in motorsport history. Here is Motorsport.com's pick of his best rides and the stories behind them
How Ducati has drawn first blood in the 2022 MotoGP title race
The 2021 MotoGP season may have only just ended but preparations for 2022 are well underway following a two-day test at Jerez this week. Ducati has hit the ground running while a lack of progress dominated Yamaha’s and world champion Fabio Quartararo’s test. While no battle lines have been drawn yet for 2022, it appears Ducati has already drawn first blood...
Why Suzuki's quest for a new MotoGP boss may be too late
Suzuki is on the search for a new team manager after its decision not to replace Davide Brivio at the start of 2021 was backed up by its unsuccessful bid to help Joan Mir defend his 2020 MotoGP world title. But whoever Shinichi Sahara appoints next, it may have already come too late to convince Mir to stick with the project
How Rossi got the perfect send-off to his MotoGP career
The greatest chapter in MotoGP history came to a close at the Valencia Grand Prix as Valentino Rossi bid farewell after 26 seasons of grand prix racing. While his run to a strong 10th was a pleasing end to his time in MotoGP, it was what happened at the front of the grid that capped the Italian's ideal send-off
Why MotoGP's under-fire graduate has a point to prove
OPINION: MotoGP-bound Darryn Binder was already under the microscope as his jump from Moto3 to join RNF's new top-class team was announced. But his crash with title hopeful Dennis Foggia caused significant consternation among the ranks - with many current riders suggesting the top level should be harder to break into as a result
How Portugal exposed the biggest threat to Quartararo
Fabio Quartararo’s first DNF of his title-winning 2021 MotoGP season couldn’t have come at a better time. But the events of the Yamaha rider’s Algarve Grand Prix exposed the M1’s well-known major weakness, which could threaten his championship defence given the increasingly Ducati-heavy makeup of the grid heading into 2022