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MotoGP, A.Espargarò slams Petrucci for on and off-track actions

"He just wanted to justify being 12th with the bike that has won in Austria for four years. Dovi? In some teams they don't give the riders the right value, I would really like him as a team-mate in Aprilia."

MotoGP: A.Espargarò slams Petrucci for on and off-track actions

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Today’s MotoGP qualifying produced quite a show both on and off the track, with some disagreements between riders that passed by far from unnoticed. We are talking about the heated discussion between Aleix Espargarò and Danilo Petrucci during Q1, with the Italian very nervous towards the Spaniard, whom he accused of hindering him during a fast lap. As so often happens, Aleix did not wait to give for his (vivacious) version of the events.

“Petrucci is simply stupid - said Aleix - as well as all the show he did and which I did not understand. On the lap we were close, he did his best fourth sector of the weekend, then closed the throttle on the straight, ruined my lap as well and started waving his hands. He was just trying to justify his 12th position with the bike that has won here for the past four years, but that's not my fault. I apologized because I realized that he would no longer be able to follow Rossi, but he still did an unnecessary show. I think they should penalize him, both for having closed the throttle and for the gestures he made”.

The Spaniard also has a very clear idea about the Dovizioso affair, reserving positive words for the man from Forlì and less positive ones for Ducati.

“It seems that sometimes some teams don't give the right credit to certain riders. Andrea has given a lot to Ducati: I don't know what the internal situation is, but as I have often said Dovi is one of my favourite riders, he works a lot and is very technical both on and off the track. Moreover, his speed in the race often surprises me, even on difficult weekends. As a rider I would love to have Andrea as my partner in Aprilia, I know I could really learn a lot from him ”.

As for his qualifying, Espargarò did not hide his disappointment at the 14th slot on the grid, but he remains positive.

“To finish qualifying just over half a second from pole is a good result for us, even if obviously I'm not fully satisfied with the position. The crash in FP4 didn't help me, but I'm satisfied with our potential, as the Red Bull Ring isn't one of our best tracks. Another positive side of the day is the non-excessive degradation of the tyres, which can be important for the race ”.

In view of the race, the goal is clear, although not particularly easy to achieve.

"I think this is the most difficult track to finish in the top ten for us, but I don't think we're very far from our goal. Tomorrow I have to stay focused, avoiding mistakes in the most demanding braking areas: I'm not as fast as in Brno, but we'll see how the race goes ”.

 

 

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