Aleix Espargaró finished eighth Czech Republic Grand Prix by having demonstrated all the benefits of the developments made to his Aprilia. At one point, he wasn't that far from the podium, then there was the need to change bikes. An operation which almost turned into a tragedy when the team released him right under the wheels of Iannone who was returning to collect his motorbike. Emergencyly blocking the front to avoid the collision, the Italian fell and his motorcycle slid towards his mechanics. More fear than harm, but Aleix Espargaró is sounding the alarm.
His team was responsible for this incident but it was the driver who suffered the sanction by being forced to give up three places. However, this is not what provokes the anger of the elder Pol who finished ninth with the KTM. For him, these pit stops in groups pressed for time are a permanent danger: “ First of all, I am happy that Andrea was not injured by this fall. I could not do anything. I don't have mirrors and I'm sorry for Aprilia and Suzuki and again for Andrea. He didn't touch me, but he understood that I was launched and applied emergency braking. ».
3 place penalty for @AleixEspargaro after his involvement in the pit lane incident with @ andreaiannone29 – puts him down to 9th#CzechGP pic.twitter.com/3h64fO6ZMy
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) August 6
« It's our mistake, because the team shouldn't have let me go. But honestly, in these cases, no one is watching anything. We only think of one thing: to jump on the other motorbike and go. This is the rule and it needs to be changed. ". Certainly, but how? “ Dani Pedrosa has some ideas and what is happening in Superbike is one of them: in this category we have a time limit to make the change and we are penalized when the deadline is exceeded. It's less stressful, we can do things more in order ».
« But the current situation is dangerous. We have leather and helmets, not the mechanics. One day we might have a drama ". It will be remembered that mechanics now wear head protection. However, what happened in Brno between Iannone et Aleix Espargaro cannot be ignored.
#CzechGP MotoGP Race: Ranking compiled by our friends at crash.net
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 44m 15.974s
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 44m 28.412s
3. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 44m 34.109s
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 44m 36.440s
5. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 44m 36.866s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 44m 39.233s
7. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac (Desmosedici GP17) 44m 40.053s
8. Alex Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 44m 46.533s
9. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 44m 46.728s
10. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1)* 44m 49.210s
11. Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 44m 49.264s
12. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1)* 44m 50.569s
13. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar (Desmosedici GP15) 44m 50.671s
14. Jack Miller AUS EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 44m 54.036s
15. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 44m 56.074s
16. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac (Desmosedici GP16) 45m 0.350s
17. Tito Rabat ESP EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 45m 1.428s
18. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 45m 9.950s
19. Andrea Iannone ITA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 45m 39.320s
20. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia (Desmosedici GP16) +1 lap
Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) DNF
Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia (Desmosedici GP15) DNF
Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar (Desmosedici GP16) DNF
