The MotoGP riders and the stewards: an eternal topic that just doesn’t want to end. Aprilia driver Aleix Espargaro is someone who doesn’t keep his opinions hidden. After the Le Mans race, he again doesn’t understand the world after incidents with two competitors. But when dealing with Freddie Spencer & Co., resignation also sets in.
Le Mans race destroyed by Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli
“I certainly wasn’t brilliant, but I wasn’t that bad either. My pace was good enough for the top 5,” said Espargaro after the French GP. At the finish he wasn’t fifth, but rather ninth. The reason was two incidents with competitors. “Enea [Bastianini, Anm. d. Red.] pushed me away at high speed. Luckily there was a run-off area,” he reported on the first encounter. “I lost my race there. I didn’t do too badly. Not that it was enough for the win or the podium, but I lost six seconds,” regrets the veteran.
His efforts to save the race were in vain: “Then I’ll have a lot of time behind Diggia [di Giannantonio, Anm. d. Red.] and Quartararo lost. I overtook them, but they countered.” But things got even worse for the MotoGP veteran in the end: “Franco caught me in the last chicane [Morbidelli, Anm. d. Red.] Hit hard, so that Binder even overtook me.”
Espargaro was angry because the stewards failed to respond both times. “I don’t understand why he didn’t get punished for this,” he said in reference to Enea Bastianini. Same game in Franco Morbidelli’s case: “He then apologized after the checkered flag, but there was no penalty either. There was actually nothing I could have done.” It should also be mentioned here that the apology didn’t stop at the run-off lap, as the Spaniard and the Italian also had a lively discussion in the media center at Le Mans after the race. Morbidelli then reacted annoyed: “I simply tried an overtaking maneuver on the last lap and he didn’t look too happy about it. But I’m used to his behavior now.”
Aleix Espargaro sure: Violent departure if I don’t give in!
Despite the renewed argument with the Italian, Espargaro’s anger lay primarily with the stewards. “The thing is: They only give penalties when there is an accident. But you should judge and punish the action, not the consequences,” he accuses them. “If I hold the line there, then we’ll both fly off violently. That’s a very fast place,” he said of the Bastianini incident. Nothing different with Morbidelli: “Even with Franco I had to get the bike upright again, otherwise it would have crashed.” So the point of view is clear: because the Catalan was lenient and avoided a potentially serious accident, he is now the one who got hurt.
In fact, Bastianini received a long lap penalty after the action, but not for pushing Espargaro away, but because the Ducati rider then shortened the chicane when driving back onto the track. Actually solid evidence for Espargaro’s argument: Bastianini would not have made the corner and the Aprilia driver therefore had to take evasive action.
Espargaro no longer speaks to MotoGP stewards: nothing will change!
Despite all the trouble, Espargaro no longer feels like making these arguments. “Nothing will change,” he says, referring to the stewards. He no longer seeks the conversation. The 34-year-old seems to have resigned: “I saw your message, but I didn’t react. They say: Come to us and explain yourself. We’ve tried that before, but nothing has changed. They’re doing their job and I’m doing mine . It just goes on like this.” The next chapter in the long series ‘MotoGP riders and the stewards’ will probably not be long in coming.