The act of contrition of Takaaki Nakagami on his hospital bed, his neck encased in a neck brace and his body covered in IV fluids, squeezes his heart and sends the paddock and its screaming pack back to a reality of motorcycle sport which is quickly forgotten as soon as a sporting issue enters bottom line: a pilot who falls first injures his own skin.
Of course, he can commit that of others when he takes with him other pilots who do not ask so much, and this is what the unfortunate man experienced Nakagami while mowing Kidneys et bagnaia (with his helmet!) at the first turn of the Catalan Grand Prix. But unless it is a deliberate slip or he outrageously deviates from the rules, an error of judgment at a moment as critical and hazardous as hard braking in the first turn is a strict act of race, perfectly analyzed by race direction.
Even before giving news of his bruised body, the Japanese pilot sent his apologies to Alex Rins and Pecco Bagnaia, as well as their teams. A sign of the pressure he is under for having missed this braking at a place where in the past we saw no less than six motorcycles in the gravel trap in 2006 (those of Capirossi, Melandri, Gibernau, Pedrosa, De Puniet, Hopkins )... Let the drivers who are certain of never “crossing the front” under the wheels of an opponent, raise their hands.
Certainly, Taka is a repeat offender, as was Baptist at a certain period (even mowing down God Rossi in front of his audience at Mugello), certainly he ruined the race of two headliners in the category MotoGP, at the same time favoring the championship leader, as had been done Lorenzo by “cleaning” the track behind Márquez on this same Montmeló circuit three years ago. But grip in this kind of action is only a few square centimeters and it is obviously irrelevant to think that Takaaki Nakagami targets its victims.
The older ones made this kind of mistake. We also remember a Takaaki Nakagami in the opposite role at Assen in 2019, when he was swept aside by the experienced Valentino Rossi. Paddock-GP then noted: “ Valentino Rossi immediately came to apologize, and the unfortunate LCR Honda rider doesn't blame him. “It’s an unlucky fall.” He even manages to think positively: it could have been worse. “Even though I'm not 100% recovered, I'm not injured and that's a good thing after such a fall. I hit the pads and I don’t remember everything, but I want to thank all the staff for helping me.” »
Let us remember again Stoner stating about Red than " his ambition exceeded his talent » following another failed braking by Vale... Not enough to burn an idol, but it happens that these "losses at the front" cause a lot of ink to flow, especially when they occur between teammates. Particularly when Pedrosa had caused to fall Hayden while the official Honda was leading the championship just before its end, or when Iannone had trashed the Ducati double at the 2016 Argentine GP by lying under the wheels of Dovizioso. The consequences of these breakdowns are often due to the greatness of soul of the victims. Pedrosa saving, Iannone fired... The list of these racing events is endless and failing to brake hangs in the face of each of these tightrope walkers constantly evolving at the limits of grip. Let us remember, this year, Miller driving to the ground Mir in Portugal…
It certainly happens that some drivers experience bad phases, the alteration of the self-confidence necessary at high level generally leading to a negative spiral, but the pressure exerted on the race direction regarding Nakagami, like the one who nailed zarco in the pillory after his spectacular clash in Austria with Morbidely, have something unhealthy. Where we can see one day's outcasts transform into prosecutors the next.
David Dumain
