Marco Bezzecchi
Aleix Espargaro has opened up about his ‘deep regret’ for striking Franco Morbidelli at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
In one of the most controversial incidents in recent MotoGP history, Espargaro, then at Aprilia, was held up by Morbidelli during FP2. On the cooldown lap, the Spaniard was seen leaning over and hitting the then-Yamaha rider on the helmet.
Espargaro was hit with a six-place grid penalty and a 10,000 euro fine. It sparked an intense rivalry between the two riders, which is still going on today.
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Aleix Espargaro says hitting Franco Morbidelli is ‘one of the biggest mistakes of my life’
Now a Honda test rider, Espargaro collided with Morbidelli, now with VR46, at Silverstone last year, prompting the latter to accuse the former of holding a grudge against him. Then, in Valencia, Morbidelli hit Espargaro on the grid in one of the more bizarre incidents in recent history.
Morbidelli felt Espargaro should have been banned for his Qatar slap, bringing up the incident after Marco Bezzecchi was suspended from the Czech GP for hitting a marshal after crashing in the Sprint.
Speaking on the CAFE DE FINCA YouTube channel, Espargaro expressed his regret over the incident and how he did not know what to tell his son afterwards.
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He openly admitted: “One of the biggest mistakes of my life was, for example, shouting at my Aprilia team in front of the cameras or slapping Morbidelli – something I deeply regret.
“But then, whenever a team-mate has been injured, I’ve always been there to help in any way I could; I’ve always been easy-going and friendly – I’m a guy who’s upfront about things, and that’s both a good and a bad thing.
“Loads of people watch it from their sofas and go, ‘Damn, man,’ and they make you look like a complete idiot, but you’ve got to remember you’re in the heat of the moment, your heart’s racing at 180, so you’re not really thinking straight.
“Sure, when you see it on a screen there and you see yourself, you’re like, ‘Damn, what a mess you’ve made of it.’
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“That’s why it’s often important when you’re young – I didn’t do it enough myself, mind you – to work with a psychologist who can help you manage those moments of tension, who can help you cope with it, because I really regret it.
“I, for example, see the footage – it happened to me a couple of years ago – the replay came on in MotoGP of that incident with Morbidelli, and my son Max asked me, ‘Hey, why did you slap him?’
“Oh man, I lost it – I felt like dying, especially with the kids around. I didn’t know what to say to him.
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