Miller slams “bullshit double standard” qualifying antics in MotoGP

Race Direction has had to strengthen its penalties for Moto3 riders to try and dissuade what they deem as irresponsible riding in qualifying practice sessions, whereby a rider is deliberately riding slow and backing out of laps in order to look for a tow.

However, this has been an issue which has affected the MotoGP grid in recent races, most notably last time out in Germany and at Mugello last month, and again in Q1 on Saturday at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The opinion on this behaviour in MotoGP is split, with many riders believing it’s not as big a safety issue in the premier class because there are fewer bikes than in Moto3.

Miller is totally against it and has criticised other MotoGP riders for defending it while simultaneously criticising Moto3 riders for the same behaviour.

“I said my piece quite clearly in the Safety Commission about this,” Miller, who qualified eighth at Assen, said.

“There were certain riders who are generally involved in that sort of situation all the time who were trying to defend themselves, saying it was not unsafe because we were watching and stuff like that.

“And I said it’s double standards how you can judge these kids [in Moto3] when they are doing this, but they are doing it themselves [in MotoGP] and saying ‘no, no it’s ok because I am watching’.

“You don’t know when the other bike is coming, you don’t know this.

“So, for me we shouldn’t have to have this penalty system [for touring]. This is MotoGP, these idiots should be able to do the lap time by themselves.

Jack Miller, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“They shouldn’t be stopping, they shouldn’t be waiting in the line. I almost cleaned out [Jorge] Martin in FP3 because he was stopped in the dead centre of Turn 6, the fastest point on the track.

“But they insist on doing it and then they have the audacity to defend it.

“But then they’re the first ones bringing it up when the kids are doing it, saying it’s bad for the TV, bad for the image.”

He added: “So, I don’t understand it. I really don’t understand it because this double standard bullshit is… they say ‘yeah, if you make a mistake or something, then you should be punished.

“That’s like having the yellow flag rule and then only if you crash on the yellow flag can you get in trouble.

“It’s a double standard, you can’t have the best of both worlds. The guys know who they are, 100%.”

Reigning world champion Joan Mir says changes to the qualifying format in Moto3 have to be made because currently "the risk is too high".

This comes after a horrible accident in which Pedro Acosta was left with an upper back injury after he was struck by another rider after crashing at Assen's final chicane at the end of FP3 in an accident that shouldn't have happened as all involved were pushing for laps despite already taking the chequered flag.

But Mir admits any change in Moto3 should also be echoed in MotoGP as "we have to be the example", adding: "The thing is that the people wait or if you have someone behind you have a lot of riders who say 'ok, I'll push and that's it', but there are a lot of riders who naturally don't want to give a wheel to the other riders.

"So if they say that we can't stop, it will be the same riders always that push and the same riders always that follow.