Miller: MotoGP bike gadgets can’t be blamed for Aragon lap 1 chaos

The returning Marquez was rear-ended by championship leader Fabio Quartararo when the Honda rider had a small moment applying the throttle through Turn 3 on the opening lap.

This sent Quartararo into a sickening crash while bits of his Yamaha got stuck in the rear of Marquez’s Honda.

When the six-time MotoGP world champion engaged his rear ride height device exiting Turn 7, he lost drive from the rear wheel as the system locked, which caused a second collision with LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami.

This incident has led to a renewed debate on whether the later technical advances in MotoGP, such as ride height devices and aerodynamic wings, should be banned on safety grounds.

But Miller – whose Ducati team has been against all proposed bans to these items in recent years – feels the gadgetry can’t be blamed for what happened on lap 1 at Aragon.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s a part of it. At the end of the day this is racing, shit’s going to happen,” Miller began.

“Are we blaming them [gadgets] are we now? Shit seems to happen when you ride up the arse of other people.

“The bike on its own seems to be perfectly fine, so I don’t think we can blame the gadgetry in this circumstance.

Jack Miller, Ducati Team

Photo by: Dorna

“Someone running up the arse of someone else and breaking a lot of components off the motorcycle, of course the motorcycle’s not going to work properly.

“I mean, either way whether that broke it or the subframe broke it, whatever, shit’s going to break when two bikes come together. It’s inevitable.”

He added: “When we came up there, there was shit all over the track: wings and rocks and all sorts.

“Right up the apex of Turn 4, where you go right up the kerb, there were thousands of stones.

“Pecco [Bagnaia] ran up to the kerb in between four and five because we all went in there and all lost the front on all those stones across the track. So, it’s part of it. That’s why this sport is so cool.”

Quartararo – who was involved in a scooter incident on his way back to the paddock after his retirement - only suffered some abrasions to his chest in the incident with Marquez, while Nakagami’s Japanese GP is in doubt after he suffered lacerations to his hand in his collision.