An angry Joan Mir believes the contact with Jack Miller’s Ducati in today’s second Qatar MotoGP was a deliberate and potentially penalty-inducing incident.

The Suzuki rider had little to say about Sunday’s second visit to Losail which saw him complete the 22-lap race in a dispiriting seventh - 4.868s behind eventual victor, Fabio Quartararo, but when questioned about his coming together with Miller, the Spaniard was quick to comment.

“What happened with Jack is that turn 10 is the only place that I could to overtake” he explained. “I took the right position, and then he decides to stay on the outside, and maintain the line on the outside. We both touched a bit, then I pick up the bike.

“I understand that it was a risky manoeuvre, but was not over the limits, was alright, was okay. Then I move the leg to apologise, because when something like this happen in the race I normally like to apologise because I couldn’t avoid it.

Then, I think in the same lap, I was wide in the last corner and when I came back, I look, I saw Jack, he was moving the head like he saw me, and I just went to the curb, to the most outside of the line that I could, and he just came across me and we both touch, and we almost crashed on the straight for this reason, so I think that it was super risky, it was super dangerous manoeuvre, and that’s it.”

Despite believing it was an intentional act, Mir indicated he was leaving it to his Suzuki squad to decide on if they will appeal the incident or not.

“For sure this has to be investigated,” he continued “because these manoeuvres in MotoGP, they are over the limits. If it was intentional, like I said, he deserve a penalty. If not, not, but I think that he moved the head perfectly.”

Likening it to a similar incident in the race, Mir concluded, “Compare the image of Aleix Espargaro and myself, from the image of Jack Miller and myself. Aleix Espargaro went wide in the last turn.

“He saw that I was coming, he moved a little bit on the outside of the track, and I saw him also, and then I didn’t came to hit him. I just respect the rivals, you know, and I think that Jack didn’t show respect in this case. So, it was the same manoeuvre, the same thing, but different riders, so you can judge.”

Miller played it down, saying: "There were a few contact, a bit of contact here and there. It was just one of those things. Everyone saw what happened and we continued to race after that.

"I mean, I got hit I think three times already before. So it seemed to be that was the way the race was going. That’s all.

"He looked at me after the race. And I looked at him. It was what it was. He went wide and came in. No one else was concerned with where I was. That’s how it was."