Espargaro reveals Bezzecchi confrontation: “It’s something that makes me angry”
Aprilia rider Espargaro left the Portuguese MotoGP concerned over the quantity of injuries - three riders are unavailable for this weekend’s Argentina MotoGP plus two more are nursing heavy knocks - and he insisted “this is not war”.
Previously, Bezzecchi chose not to name names but said: “There are some riders that cry in the Safety Commission for so many overtakes. They cry like a baby and then, in the first occasion, they make something that is completely stupid and destroy your race.”
Espargaro and Bezzecchi had come together during the sprint race and the VR46 rider's race ended prematurely, soon afterwards.
Espargaro, already furious with the aggression shown across the weekend, explained what happened when he spoke to Bezzecchi to thrash out their problems.
“Marco yesterday said that I almost hit everybody in corner 3,” he fumed. “It’s something that makes me angry because I believe that I’m a clean rider.
“I want to keep being the cleanest rider on the grid.
“[Sunday] I didn’t want to overtake - I was one second faster than the rider in front, but I finished behind, because I didn’t see the spot. So I didn’t force it to cause a crash.
“I want to be a clean rider - If I can pass then I will pass, if I can’t then I can’t.
“I said to Marco: “I didn’t see you. Did I touch you?’
“He said: ‘No, but you changed the line’.
“I said: ‘Because there is no space in corner 1’.
“You have to talk to people, it’s the best thing to do.”
An irritated Espargaro also reacted with frustration when a camera crew tried to record conversations he was having inside the Aprilia box.
“There are always cameras! There are times when you want to talk to the team and they shouldn’t listen,” he said.
“It’s like Big Brother, sometimes! At least some moments, it’s better to keep them private.”
Espargaro’s brother, Pol Espargaro, was the first of multiple riders to be hurt in Portimao.
He crashed last Friday, causing jaw and lung issues.
Enea Bastianini then broke a shoulder blade after being knocked off his bike during the sprint race by Luca Marini, who escaped sanctions.
Marc Marquez underwent hand surgery to an injury suffered when he caused a crash which ruined the races, and did physical harm, to Miguel Oliveira and Jorge Martin.
Pol Espargaro, Marquez and Bastianini will miss the Argentina MotoGP, while Oliveira and Martin are expected to battle on despite their pain.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
