LEAVE it to an Australian to use common sense.
Jack Miller believes Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez must end their “immature” feud that was rekindled through their contact at the Argentine Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
And he didn’t shy away from recalling the tragic consequences of an escalation by citing a similar incident in the not-too-distant past of MotoGP.
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ROSSI: Marquez is “dangerous”, “destroys our sport”
MARQUEZ: “I didn’t do anything crazy during the Rossi move”
On Thursday in Austin, the two combatants faced the media en masse for the first time since the incident – but not in the official press conference. Instead, everyone in their team’s hospitality units turned to the media alone.
Marquez insisted that he had simply made a mistake and did not want to become embroiled in the controversy surrounding Rossi’s allegations that he was deliberately trying to force drivers to submit or fall while overtaking and that he was “killing the sport” destroyed”.
Rossi also said his feelings have not changed, but: “It is better to look to the future.”
All drivers are expected to gather for the usual meeting of the safety commission on Friday at the Circuit of The Americas, where they will be approached by Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpaleta.
But regardless of possible changes in the way drivers are penalized or how stewards handle incidents on the track, Miller said the sport needs to better manage the impact between drivers after the heat of the moment.
“I think they need to control the fighting in the paddock a little more,” Miller said.
“We are here to do motorcycle racing and we are here to fight, but the fight in general should try to fall by the wayside and not fight as much in the media.
“I think that’s one of the clearest things. There are a lot of people – especially the journalists – coming up to you trying to get you to screw something up and I think this is not the way to go.
“I understand that everyone is looking for a great story and wants to get as many views as possible, but sometimes it’s not the right way and it also twists the truth and makes other people look bad.
“I think the fights should be left by the wayside and of course we drivers have to be careful with what we say because words can be twisted, as we’ve seen many times.”
Miller drew a parallel with the widening rift between Rossi and Marquez in the 2011 contest between the sport’s front runners and Marco Simoncelli.
Simoncelli has been publicly criticized by rivals, notably Jorge Lorenzo, for the aggression he used on his passing plays.
Although the young Italian began to moderate his driving style, his career was tragically interrupted by a fatal accident at this year’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
“I’m watching this situation unfold with a lot of people and people who choose to side,” Miller said.
“I just want to refresh people’s memories of Marco Simoncelli and Dani Pedrosa and how that ended.
“We all race here and we risk our lives and I think these fans and drivers are fighting each other, I think it’s pretty silly and immature.
“You are quite old and you need to remember that life is short and we risk our lives here.”