Granado furious with Andrea Iannone: “What he did is unacceptable!”

It was an eventful season finale at the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup in Spielberg. Ahead of the final two races of the year, four riders were in with a good chance of winning the title. Archie McDonald, Eric Granado, Oscar Gutierrez and Andrea Iannone were separated by just 27 points.

So there was plenty of excitement in store for the sixth round of the season. Granado secured pole position in qualifying – the Brazilian made it clear on Saturday that he was determined to clinch the title. Then came the drama for Granado in Race 1: on the second lap, he was taken out by Andrea Iannone at Turn 6. Both were sent flying through the gravel trap – and for both, the dream of the title was over. ‘The Maniac’ had struck again. The Italian was handed a long-lap penalty for the second race on Sunday.

Granado was devastated – and absolutely furious! Andrea Iannone had robbed him of his chance at the title with that reckless manoeuvre. “He knew I was fighting for the championship. I know he was also fighting for the title, but it was the second lap, and I overtook him really cleanly. I did everything right, and what he did is unacceptable,” Granado said angrily, even a day later, at the final media session on Sunday. The long-lap penalty that Iannone was handed in the second race was too lenient for him. “The penalty is also unacceptable to me. I don’t think a long-lap is enough for what he did. He cost me the championship title; because of him, I couldn’t fight for the title. I don’t know whether I would have won or not, but I would at least have liked to have tried, and he caused me to crash. That’s why I was really angry on Saturday – to be honest, it was one of the worst days of my career. Because if you lose in a battle, that’s fine – the other rider was faster and he won. But losing like that is really painful. And on Sunday too (in Race 2, ed.), I felt worse than at any other point throughout the whole week. But I was quick, I felt strong all weekend and I won the race. I don’t know what would have happened if I’d finished Saturday’s race, but anyway – he didn’t let me.’

Der Crash von Andrea Iannone und Eric Granado

Foto: motogp.com/BWC

Granado on Iannone: “I don’t want to repeat what he said to me, because it doesn’t make any sense”

Following Saturday’s incident, there was a discussion between Granado and Iannone. “I spoke to him. I don’t want to repeat what he said to me, because it doesn’t make any sense,” Granado dismissed. “I can’t change it now. I just have to focus on the future. The one thing I can change is what I do best – keep fighting and keep giving my all. I did what I could on Sunday; I won the race. So I’ll hold on to that feeling and we’ll look ahead.”

Granado won Race 2. Although he was pleased, there was no sign of euphoria. Despite being the fastest rider at the Fed Bull Ring last weekend, he had to settle for third place in the championship. The Australian Archie McDonald is the first champion of the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup. The Spaniard Oscar Gutierrez finished as runner-up. “It was good for me to finish Sunday with a win. I knew I had good pace. But anyway, I did what I could,” added Eric Granado. “I felt good on the bike. I’d like to congratulate Archie and Oscar too; they’ve had a great season.”