MotoGP reporter Jack Appleyard says there’s no longer any ‘huge beef’ between MotoGP riders these days, with one notable exception.
In an interview earlier this year, Jorge Lorenzo complained about the lack of rivalries on today’s grid. He feels the riders have all become too friendly with one another.
In his era, of course, it was very different. The relationships between Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, or Rossi and Marc Marquez, were intense and even outright hostile at times.
Aside from Marc Marquez, who is Valentino Rossi’s greatest MotoGP rival?
Comment below!
One-intra team rivalry outweighs Franco Morbidelli vs Aleix Espargaro
Appleyard was asked to pick the biggest paddock ‘beef’ on the Motorsport Republica podcast, and he went with Franco Morbidelli and Aleix Espargaro.
Espargaro famously hit Morbidelli’s helmet, with both riders still on their bikes, after a run-in during a practice session in Qatar.
As he revealed recently, Espargaro deeply regrets the Morbidelli incident. He retired from full-time racing at the end of 2024 but remains active as a Honda test rider, though he is currently injured.
Morbidelli thought Espargaro deserved a ban – an opinion he stands by to this day – rather than a six-place grid penalty. The spat was renewed when they collided at last year’s British GP during the Spaniard’s wildcard outing.
“The obvious one is Aleix Espargaro and Franky Morbidelli,” Appleyard said. “Those two do not get on. Aside from that, there’s no huge beef between the riders.”
What is the biggest RIVALRY in MotoGP right now? ⚔️
But even this is overshadowed by the tension between Aprilia and Ducati, MotoGP’s two Italian manufacturers.
Aprilia called Mugello ‘our house’ when Marco Bezzecchi led a one-two finish at the race in late May.
And when they announced the signing of Francesco Bagnaia, Aprilia said they were ‘supporting Italy’, potentially a veiled dig at Ducati. Luigi Dall’Igna’s team have formed an all-Spanish line-up for 2027 featuring Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta.
Appleyard said: “[The biggest beef] between teams? Aprilia and Ducati. They’re always taking little jabs at each other and going back and forth.
“That’s the biggest beef in the paddock, I’d say. The pit board in Mugello saying ‘casa nostra’ – our house – and then the press release when they signed Bagnaia, [Massimo] Rivola’s quotes in there… taking a dig at the fact that Ducati have got two Spaniards on their bikes.”
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
