Joerg Teuchert
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At the Italian GP in this Sunday’s race, Alex Rins and Takaaki Nakagami exchanged arguments on the track which ended with the Suzuki rider crashing after a touchdown between the riders. Arrived at the paddock, Rins was quite annoyed by what had happened and ended up accusing Nakagami of being ‘the dirtiest driver on the grid’.
Speaking to motogp.com, Nakagami shared his view of the events, defending that this is just a racing incident and that he is not in MotoGP to give way to anyone who wants to overtake.
“I have nothing to say, because we are in the race. One lap before he went inside at the same corner and I closed the door to save that position. The next lap he tried again but at least I was in front of him and then at the exit of turn 11 he came out and I… In my opinion he was the one who hit me. At least I was in front of Rins and I can’t do anything; I run and I don’t want to let him pass. It was racing, I can’t say anything, it was fair. Of course, I’m really sorry for the accident and that he didn’t get any points, I’m really sorry, but it was a racing incident,” he explained.
When faced with Rins’ accusation of being an unclean racer on the track, Nakagami responded with humor and showed his understanding of the Suzuki rider’s frustration:
– Thanks [laughs]. I mean, again, we’re racing. Everyone wants to beat everyone. Of course it’s not irresponsible driving, there is respect for everyone. Unfortunately, we collided and it crashed. Maybe if I were him, I would say the exact same thing, because he’s fighting for a championship and he’s yet to score points for the second time in a row. I understand, but I’m not going to change the [riding] style.
Here is a series of images of the incident made public by motogp.com:
Source: MotoGP
