Aleix Espargaro : Zarco and Morbidelli Crashed Into My Bike Several Times

RiderTua.com  – After a collision incident with Johann Zarco, Aprilia senior rider Aleix Espargaro left Jerez with zero points. The Spaniard cited all unusual rescue efforts as the cause of his accident during the race. After crashing out on the first lap of Saturday’s sprint, Aleix Espargaro also couldn’t finish the long distance race on Sunday.

Aleix made a very bad start due to problems with his bike’s clutch. As a result, he lost many positions. Apart from that, Zarco and Morbidelli crashed their bikes several times, said the official Aprilia team rider, who initially dropped from 12th position on the grid to 15th position.

Aleix Espargaro : Zarco and Morbidelli crashed into my bike several times

Aprilia has long experienced difficulties at the start of the race. This was very painful for Espargaro, because they saw that Maverick was not experiencing it. “If a rider starts the race badly, it is very difficult to recover positions. Speed is not that important. If a rider stays in the top five in the first two laps, he will stay there for the rest of the race. Unfortunately we lost too many places at the start of the race ..”

On the tenth lap, the 34 year old rider finally had to stop the race early when he tried to overtake Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) at Turn 5. The maneuver failed, the Aprilia rider fell and dragged Zarco to the asphalt. “I tried to take a position. However, the front wheel locked at Turn 5, then I fell and Johann got stuck with me,” complained Espargaro, who is currently in eighth place in the standings.

Although he considers the fault to be his own, the Spaniard does not feel his maneuver was aggressive. “Johann has to show more respect. We were fighting for 14th position and he hit my bike three or four times. I crashed.. because that’s not my racing style. Because I was trying to save him and avoid contact, my front wheel locked and I fell. It would have been easier to touch him lightly.

After the race, both drivers were called to race direction to discuss the incident. Aleix consciously restrained himself… while Johann was very angry with the race organizers. Not because of what happened with Aleix, but because of another penalty on Saturday. She lost her temper a little, so Aleix pulled her out of the room to calm her down. But Aleix can totally relate because the rules need to be better enforced.