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Nakagami doesn't think Quartararo Argentina MotoGP clash was "crazy"

Takaaki Nakagami has defended the contact with Fabio Quartararo that sent the Yamaha rider to the back of the field in the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix as nothing “crazy”.

Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda

Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The LCR Honda rider was trying to pass Quartararo for 10th on the opening lap of Sunday’s rain-hit grand prix at Rio Hondo when he went into a corner hot and made contact with the Yamaha.

Quartararo was forced onto the painted run-off area, plummeted to 16th in the depleted 17-rider field and was forced into a recovery ride.

The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM stewards, but they deemed no further action was necessary.

Quartararo – who labelled Nakagami a “kamikaze” on French television afterwards – was unhappy with the stewards’ decision.

“No, I don’t understand what they are doing,” Quartararo said on Sunday after the clash.

“I watched the Moto3 race: Ayumu [Sasaki] did an overtake at Turn 5 that was really clean, but he slightly touched [another rider and got a penalty], where in MotoGP we are doing it all the time.

“He [Sasaki] got dropped one position and he [Nakagami] just destroyed my race in one corner and didn’t get anything.”

Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda

Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Nakagami has defended himself, saying he did nothing over the line in the clash – though he concedes he was “overshooting” the corner when he went for the overtake.

“Well, it looks from the outside like it was a little bit aggressive,” said Nakagami, who was 13th in the grand prix.

“But honestly, at that moment I thought I could overtake. But I was slightly overshooting and missing the apex.

“But it wasn’t crazy, it’s not like crazy riding. We touched each other a little bit, but this is racing.

“I have nothing to say. I didn’t make any mistake. Luckily, he didn’t also crash. Of course, he lost the position, I want to apologise. But this is racing.”

This is the second lap-one collision triggered by Nakagami in the space of a year that has gone unpunished, much to his rivals’ annoyance. A first-corner pile-up involving Alex Rins and Francesco Bagnaia in Barcelona last season was deemed a racing incident.

Quartararo was able to recover to seventh after the Nakagami clash.

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