The first weekend of the new MotoGP format, which saw the introduction of the Sprint Race, already saw two injured riders, Pol Espargaro and Enea Bastianini, many crashes and a spectacular short race in which many riders raced without hesitation.
However, some riders complained about the aggressiveness that was seen and Aleix Espargaro found himself among them: “I just hope that this sport doesn’t become boxing, because it isn’t.” A statement that could be understood as a rebuke to the new format.
“I didn’t say that I don’t like the new format, you have to give it time, understand it, also try to lower the intensity and tension of the riders a bit. I say that if people liked today’s race it’s perfect, but I don’t like so many contacts and so many crashes. I’m not saying that the format is bad, I like racing”, the Aprilia rider wanted to clarify.
“When I talk about boxing, I mean I hope it’s a sport where the fastest wins, not the most aggressive. It seemed to me that this first Sprint Race was tackled with a very strong level of tension and aggression. It’s also true that it’s the first race of the year, there’s always a lot of tension at the first race of every season and this year there’s a new format and it was very windy. I don’t want a title that says I suck at the Sprint Race, because it’s not true. We need to give these Saturday races time to understand how we adapt and decrease the aggressiveness we saw today”.
What many feared, namely that there might be injuries and consequently missed races, happened: “Saturday Enea, Friday Pol, and then a lot of crashes. Don’t think that all these falls depend on Portimao, but they depend on the new format. On Friday afternoon you have to play for the direct passage to Q2 and we are not prepared because it is still Friday. There are crashes, red flags, we need to give the new format time”.
On the other hand, Aleix Espargaro was optimistic about his performance and focus for the long race on Sunday: “My pace was good, I saw myself well and managed to reach the leading group. The problem is that we couldn’t overtake. If the race had been longer, I think only the Ducatis would have been faster than the Aprilias”.
“I was blocked by Marc Marquez, who didn’t have the same pace as the Aprilias, but he’s an impressive breakaway. Although we had more traction and more cornering pace than him, we didn’t have the time in the race to overtake him. When the race was over, the moment began when I went faster and they had more difficulty. But the Sprint Races are this”, concluded the driver from Granollers.
Read also:
