Ducati MotoGP rider Jack Miller says he plans to talk to Fabio Quartararo over what he perceived as “unnecessary” aggressive riding in the Indonesian Grand Prix – but the reigning champion has made it clear he “doesn’t care”.
The reigning MotoGP champion drew Miller’s ire through a couple of manouevres in the Mandalika race, the first of which happened on the second lap (video below).
Across the stripe and @_moliveira88 leads! 📈
Look at the big movers on the timing tower! 👀#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/MK4VbNZa4H
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 20, 2022
Quartararo led from pole on the first tour but slipped behind Miguel Oliveira on the main straight, before Miller moved to pass him down the inside of Turn 1.
But Quartararo tried to cut back from the outside on the corner exit and the pair made minor contact, which proved inconsequential.
Miller felt Quartararo’s counter-attack was executed in a needless way, and was also apparently dissatisfied by how the Frenchman rebuffed a late-race attack by Johann Zarco at the same corner – with Quartararo likewise sweeping through from the outside and taking over the racing line, forcing Zarco to check up.
“I just passed him and he proceeded to ride his motorcycle into the side of my leg, quite clearly, like he did to Johann,” Miller said.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to, once somebody passes you, to immediately accelerate towards their front tyre.
“I will quite happily have a word with him about this because it’s not the first time. As we saw with Johann as well.
“Okay, the Yamaha turns well, but that doesn’t mean that you open the gas and aim for my front tyre, that I’m going to crash. I don’t think that’s fair.
“He rode into the side of my leathers, I clearly had better pace at that point in time. I’d come from ninth on the grid, he was on pole, and I was passing him.
“It was just an unnecessary risk I think, that early in the race, to be running into my leg. That’s all.”
Quartararo said he was on the receiving end of a rant from Miller, presumably after the chequered flag, but that he couldn’t actually hear any of it.
Asked about Miller’s grievances by The Race, he said: “I don’t care. I don’t care because he’s the one in the past that also had some aggressive moves, and I think my move was really not aggressive. Just [I] didn’t expect to touch [his bike] – and my touch was not something big, was a really small touch. And I don’t know if he watched on TV, but before talking I think he better watch because I didn’t make nothing wrong.
“I saw he wasn’t happy, but, let’s say, I didn’t make any strange moves like I attacked him so bad. He overtook me into Turn 1, I saw he was going wide and I just crossed the lines.”
Quartararo said he wanted to hear “the comments from other riders” on whether his move was disrespectful.
“From my point of view, if I make a bad move, I say sorry, but that one, pfff. I have nothing to say.”
