Franco Morbidelli felt a 'non-elegant' move by a 'frustrated' Johann Zarco was to blame for their𒐪 opening lap incident in Sunday's Czech Republic MotoGP.

The pair made contact through the second part of the Turn 3-4 chicane,ꦜ sending Mor🐷bidelli to the ground - with his Petronas Yamaha then wiping out Suzuki's Joan Mir.

Their paths crossed after Zarco plum♒meted from third of the gri🍃d, while Morbidelli and Mir were on the rise after starting twelfth and 16th respectively.

"It looked like I was going to have a good race because I had a good feeling in warm-up and had alrea💃dy recovered one position in the open𓂃ing corners," Morbidelli said.

"I was eleventh and then unfortunately, after an aw꧋ful start, maybe Johann Zarco was a bit frustrated and decided to make a non-elegant move on me.

"I was the guy on the outside and I was in front and trying to make my corner. But apparently Johann ♚felt the need to get a bit more space and made a bit more space for him, or just decided to hit 🥂me, I don’t know.

"And this just made me go do🐬wn and ruined my race and Mir's race."

The Italian believes Zarco's frust♍ration at losing so many positions, after claiming KTM's first-ever front row in the wet qualifying, was a factor.

"Yes, I mean I clearly understand that he was frustrated, beca🔯use he had an awful start, because he started third and he was with me. We were eleventh and he was going to be twelfth," Morbidelli said.

"So he was going to lose a lot of positions. I understand it and he dওid a move dictated from the frustration, I guess.

"I was the one that was there, unfortunately, and we all know that Johann is not the most clea🌠n and the most elegant rider, but I♉'m not complaining too much. I mean, this is racing.

"Pity for the team, and for Johann 🎀Mir. But a🌺nyway this is racing and we go forward."

Zarco, who went on to finish in 14th place, said his 'disastrous' start had been caused by lining up on the wet side of the g𝓀rid.

"I think the right side of the grid was wღet♕ and I spun at the start. I lost maybe 7-8 positions immediately," he explained.

The Frenchman hadn’t yet watched a reply of the Morbidelli incident but thought the contact was a consequence of cutting back to the inside after a wide entry and possibly being squeezed by 💎the M1 rider, whom he couldn't see.

"Should be good to see the video. I lost many places at the start, then I was behind Fabio and maybe Aleix Espargaro into Turn 3," Zarco said. "I could not go to the inside - so I was a bit to the outside, but if I'm outside at Turn 3 it mea♏ns I will be inside at Turn 4.

"It was to👍tally my position, so I was there behind Aleix and Fabio but then it's true that I got contact with Franco, I think Franco tried to close but I was totally on the right side of my bike and not even s𓃲eeing him.

"I felt the contact and I didn’t even know if he crashe🥂d or not. It looked like he crashed, so sorry for him."

Like Morbidelli, Mir had high hopes for the race after a strong warm-up, his exaspera🌟tion at being taken꧋-out clear to see as the rookie dropped to his knees in the gravel trap.

"It was a shame because after the warm-up, that wa♐s only the third dry practice this weekend, we were able to have a good setting. I was ಞable to be fast and really constant, so I was really happy," he said.

"Then in the race, this is what happens when you start at the back. What can I say? I overtook a lot of riders in two corners, then on the fourth corner I think Zarco touched Morbidelli, Morbidelli crashed and I was on the outs♒ide of Morbidelli. That's it. I couldn’t do anything.

"The good thing is 🔜that Austria is only next🐼 weekend."

Before which, all three w𒁃ill be back on track for Monday's official Brno test.

Zarco said he now has "settings plus parts to have the bike under control, then when I want to 𝔍go fast I have other problems that we are not able to fix and we're going to work on th✃at tomorrow."

Morbidelli plans to work on "improving the balance, which was already good this weekend. Still we 💧need to improve a little bit the speed, which is there sometimes but not consistently."

Mir will try the new Suzuki fairin♑g uಞsed by team-mate Alex Rins as well working on "wheelie and braking" for next weekend's Austrian round.

Meanwhile, the wet right-side of the track that Zarco highlighted for his bad start, was th▨e only 'small area' where Morbidelli felt Race Direction's handling of the weather conditions could have been improved.

"Race Direction acted perfectly. The only thing I can say is that maybe [the S𝄹afety Cars] were cleaning up just some areas of the grid and not all of it, so it became [not so good] for so𝐆me riders that were starting on the inside. But this is the only thing. The way Race Direction acted was perfect, apart from this small thing."