In the sprint race at Jerez, Marquez tried to pass Mir at the last corner, but they collided. Mir got hit hard and lost many places, finishing 10th. Marquez, who crashed earlier, was told to move down one place for the crash but still ended up in seventh.
Mir thought Marquez’s punishment was unfair. He remembered getting a tougher penalty for a similar incident with Quartararo last year. He said, “I lost four positions – [he is] demoted one position. I want to understand.”
Marquez felt his penalty was fair. He said Mir didn’t let up on the brakes. He said, “I try to overtake Mir in a smooth way but then he released the brakes and went in and then we had the contact.”
Mir was upset about how the situation was handled. He said, “I’m a rider who in the past liked to overtake with contact. But one thing is the margin to touch and open your line, and the other thing is to kick the rider out of the track.”
Mir thought Marquez’s move was too aggressive. He said, “He came into my line, he kicked me out of the track to get that position. So, this is something at the moment you cannot do. Or if you do, you have to be penalized.”
