MotoGP: Aleix Espargaro Accused By Ducati Rider For Supporting Jorge Martin - 'Not A Clean Thing'

Saajan Jogia | Nov 17, 2024

Apr 16, 2023; Austin, TX, USA; Aleix Espargaro (41) of Spain and Aprilia Racing prepares to race in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas on April 16, 2023 at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Aleix Espargaro has been accused by Ducati rider Enea Bastianini of supporting Jorge Martin in his MotoGP championship battle when the pair engaged in a close battle for the fourth spot. However, a mistake by Bastianini caused him to lose several positions, dropping him to seventh place. The error also proved costly in the championship standings, as he lost the third spot to Marc Marquez.

The Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona proved to be significant for all three riders in question. For Bastianini, it marked his final race with Ducati before his move to Tech 3 KTM in 2025. His battle with the retiring Espargaro, who bid farewell to MotoGP after an illustrious career, ultimately kept him from challenging Martin for third place. For Martin, the third-place podium finish marked his first MotoGP championship victory.

While the Spaniard will carry the number 1 tag to Aprilia next year, Bastianini was frustrated about the encounter with Espargaro, which led him to point fingers at the outgoing rider. He said:

“I am not happy about what Aleix did.

“For me, it’s not correct. He is not the teammate [of Martin].

“It was not a clean thing.

“Without the fight with Aleix, it was probably possible to do something more for myself.

“He did the whole race for Martin! Of course, he is friends with Jorge.

“But you can’t do something like this.”

He added:

 “I am not really happy about today.

“It was the last race with Ducati and I didn’t do the race like my expectation.

“I tried to do the maximum but I suffered from the start with the front. This has happened many times.

“I was fast in the sprint but, for the long race, we felt something.

“I lost many times at the start. I lost with Aleix today.

“It was impossible to do more than my result.”

Speaking on Martin's championship victory, Bastianini said:

“Jorge has been very close to perfection during this championship.

“I am happy for him. He worked a lot to achieve this result.

“It’s not easy how he managed this race. He was perfect.

“I hope to fight with him in the future. He will be fast with Aprilia.”

Continuing about his teammate Bagnaia, he said:

“We were an incredible team, very solid. We worked to be much faster.

“The level was higher because of the work we did together.

“Sometimes we tried a new part on the bike, and we talked a lot to give the maximum to Ducati.

“That material arrived also to [Pramac].”