Jorge Martin refused to accept that he was responsible for the dramatic six-rider pile-up in the MotoGP Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Martin, who finished on the podium in third at the Red Bull Ring, made an aggressive pass on the inside of Fabio Quartararo into Turn 1 on the opening lap, with little room to spare.
As a result, Yamaha’s Quartararo was pushed into Maverick Vinales, who made a poor start from the front row on the factory Aprilia.
With riders all closely bunched together, the contact caused a number to crash, including Johann Zarco, Miguel Oliveira and a fuming Marco Bezzecchi, who lost more ground to race winner Francesco Bagnaia in the title race, and also fell further behind Martin in the standings.
Quartararo and Viñales managed to avoid crashing, while Enea Bastianini was also hampered.
Speaking after the controversial incident at the post-race press conference, Martin said he wasn’t to blame.
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“I was in race direction trying to understand the situation,” said the Spaniard.
“I watched it like 50 times and it is complicated on their side but also on my side. I was keeping a straight line and I feel like I was going to do the corner on the inside quite comfortably.
“But then some riders on the outside closed a bit the lines and then Fabio closed on me.
“He lost a bit of control so I think it was a combination of things. But I still think it was not my fault and I was doing a good line on the inside.
“It was bad luck and I hope all the riders are okay, but it was not my fault.”
Martin was involved in another flashpoint during the race, when Luca Marini crashed at the chicane after he was passed by the Pramac Ducati rider on lap seven.
The incident happened right in front of VR46 team owner Valentino Rossi, who put his head in his hands after seeing both of his riders taken out of the race.
Reflecting on this incident, Martin also argued he was not at fault.
“I was thinking about it before watching all the images. I was already in front and he tried to keep the position a bit, but then he touched my foot peg with his elbow and that’s why he crashed,” Martin said.
“I didn’t try to push him out and I was doing the correct line. I feel that I’m a really clean rider and I always try to overtake in a clean way.
“It was a pity that he crashed because it creates some doubts about whether I threw him out. But again, I felt like this wasn’t my fault.”
Both incidents were placed under investigation, with FIM Stewards deciding no further action was necessary in relation to the Marini crash.
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