Franco Morbidelli’s reaction to confrontation in the gravel with Jack Miller

Franco Morbidelli has offered his verdict on the fiery row with Jack Miller at the Spanish MotoGP.

Morbidelli’s attempted overtake of Miller sent both riders into the gravel in Jerez last weekend.

Miller was irate and let his feelings be known to Morbidelli as they recovered.

“The race was not going well for either of us," he was quoted by Motorsport. "After you end up on the gravel it's okay to be angry.”

Morbidelli insisted: “It was an unfortunate race incident.

“Jack was doing a different line. It was at the end of the race, but I was quite a bit faster than him. 

"But I couldn't pass him because Jack was braking very fast.

“In that corner, I didn't even want to pass him, but the way he made the line…

"I thought I would go on for mine. In the end, we had contact. It was a shame."

The stewards ruled that the collision midway through the Spanish MotoGP was a racing incident.

The Pramac Ducati rider reacted to his performance in Jerez: "I'm also disappointed because I got a bad start again.

He said via Motosprint: “I found myself at the back of the group.

“The positive thing is certainly the speed that we have, I shouldn't have been part of that group from that point of view.

“We are fast, we have the potential to be up front with the best.

“We have improved a lot, it's just that we still have to improve many things, there are some aspects that I still don't control well, such as optimal management of the lowering device.”

The day after the Spanish MotoGP, Morbidelli emerged upbeat from the Jerez test.

It was the first time he was able to test his new bike since moving from Yamaha last season.

Morbidelli joined Pramac then missed the entirety of preseason testing due to a injury, sustained in a crash on a training day.

That injury also forced him into a slow start to his first year with Pramac, but finally there is optimism about Morbidelli’s potential.