Title rivals pinpoint the moment they knew MotoGP sprint race was too dangerous
The sprint race at the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island was cancelled due to bad weather on Sunday, after the schedule had already been amended to allow the grand prix to take place 24 hours earlier than usual.
The Moto2 race did go ahead on Sunday amid worsening conditions before it was red flagged. But a crash by Vietti - a VR46 Academy graduate - was noticed by his friends in the premier class.
Francesco Bagnaia said about cancelling the MotoGP sprint: “For me, it’s the correct decision. But it’s always bad when we cancel a race.
“The situation was positive or negative, we could’ve gained points or lost points.
“I was slow in the warm-up but we fixed it in the race. I was ready to fight for the top positions and maybe win the race.
“I’m happy for this decision because the conditions were very dangerous.
“In a moment, during the Moto2 race, it changed a lot. Corner 1 was very dangerous.
“I saw the Celestino Vietti crash, like Miguel Oliveira’s in 2019, pushed out by the wind. This was very critical.”
Jorge Martin said: “It was the correct choice, for sure.
“I felt good in the warm-up and I felt confident that, if we did the race, I could go fast.
“It was dangerous and it was the correct decision for all of us.
“There was wind at Corner 2, the conditions were on the limit, then the wind increased.”
Marco Bezzecchi added: “Unfortunately we couldn’t race but the decision was the right one.
“In Moto2 we saw many crashes, Vietti’s because of the wind. Fortunately he is okay, he explained the crash to me, it was a very big hit.
“I’m not happy to not race. But to look on the positive side for me, physically it is an advantage.”
Brad Binder said: “You feel lost because you wake up with the intention to race.
“Everything builds up to that moment then, when I walked out of my office, I saw ‘race cancelled’.
“Phillip Island, on a good day, doesn’t have much room for error. In the rain with a ton of wind is always going to be too sketchy.
“Through Turn 3 and 4 you feel the wind. All you need is it to catch you, and you could be in trouble.”
Johann Zarco, winner of Saturday’s full-length race, said: “Strange feeling. I was getting into concentration.
“I wanted the confirmation of the victory from yesterday.
“The wind is coming up, stronger and stronger, and it’s hard to ride the bike. It was dangerous.
“It was an opportunity to get a podium but also to lose something with my opponent.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
