– The Moto2 race in Misano started with a big bang. Immediately after the start, there was an accident in the first corner that eliminated all three riders who had started from the front row. Angel Piqueras was the cause of the accident.
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Daniel Holgado was the first to turn into the first corner. Polesitter Senna Agius went outside. Piqueras braked too late in between, first hitting Holgado’s rear tire and then crashing into Agius’s side. All three tumbled into the gravel trap.
During the race, Piqueras went to the IntactGP box to apologize to Agius. The Australian’s clear words to Piqueras were audible on the TV broadcast.
“Yes, you can apologize. But you started from third place, and you are a rookie. Imagine you could have reached the podium. After just one corner, you probably thought: ‘I’m going to get this podium.'”
Then Agius referred to the MotoGP start in the sprint on Saturday, when Marc Marquez took the lead from Marco Bezzecchi in corner 1: “You saw Marc yesterday. But now it’s no longer about that …”
Piqueras could not replicate this maneuver, and it ended in a disaster. The race stewards handed down two long-lap penalties for this action at his next race.
“I want to apologize to the riders involved in the crash,” Piqueras apologizes for the crash. “I made a mistake. I hope both are okay.”
Holgado brushes off the situation: “That’s how races are: sometimes things like this happen. One day you’re the one it happens to, and another day it hits you because of someone else. The most important thing is that I’m okay.”
Even before the race, there was discussion in the Moto2 paddock that something could happen at the start. Because Piqueras is a rookie in the middle class. In Misano, the Spaniard had qualified third for the second time.
He had already started from the front row in Austin. Back then, there was a crash involving seven riders in the first lap at corner 11. This mass accident was caused by rookie Alberto Ferrandez, who came into the corner too fast.
Piqueras suffered a fracture of the left femur and had to miss five races. He has been back on the grid since Brno. Since then, two 14th places have been his best results.
Piqueras makes a rookie mistake
Now Piqueras had an optimal starting position from third place in Misano for his first top Moto2 result. But he made exactly the mistake the other riders had feared.
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“To be honest,” says Collin Veijer, who started directly behind Piqueras in sixth, “I was already expecting something like that in corner 1. It’s something very special when a Moto3 rider is there in his first year.”
“I think he didn’t expect the tank to be so heavy when braking into corner 1. That’s why he braked quite late. In Moto3 that’s not a big problem, but in Moto2 the rear wheel lifts off.”
“Stopping such a heavy bike this way is impossible. That’s why it’s very unfortunate for him, and of course especially for Senna and Dani.” Although Piqueras caused the accident, Veijer assesses the situation somewhat more nuanced.
“But I wouldn’t put all the blame on Piqueras because it was his first time in this situation,” says the Ajo team rider. “He simply didn’t know. Of course it was a mistake. He knows himself that he did something wrong.”
“And I don’t think it will happen again. It was a Moto3 rider who was in the front row for the first time. I think he was very excited. But honestly, I expected it.”
The team should have prepared Piqueras better
The consensus in the Moto2 field was that the MSi team should have better pointed out to Piqueras that braking into the first corner from the front row must be done differently than when starting in the midfield.
“We talked about exactly that with the team,” says Manuel Gonzalez. “We talked about how Munoz and Piqueras might be a bit more dangerous than the other riders.”
“Because they are not used to being in the front row.” Because David Munoz, who is also in his first full season, started from fourth place. For the second time, he had qualified for the second row.
“You have to assess the situation a bit better,” says Gonzalez, “when you don’t see riders in front of you to orient yourself when braking. You just have to stay a little calmer. Luckily, the crash didn’t affect us.”
Gonzalez benefited from the start crash and had three fewer opponents. He only had to keep Veijer in check, which he managed. With his fifth win of the season, the IntactGP rider extended his championship lead to 47.5 points.
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