Aprilia Racing Team Gresini had a difficult Sunday at the Catalan Grand Prix.
Qualified in 22nd position, Bradley Smith, who was making his third race appearance here in Barcelona this year, after the Grands Prix in Qatar and Jerez, made what we can call a blunder even before the end of the first lap.
It happened in turn 10, the same place where a lap later the race was decapitated by the clumsiness of Jorge Lorenzo. Bradley Smith, then 18th, arrived much too quickly on the handlebars of his Aprilia RS–GP and went directly into Aleix Espargaró which was a little in front and more outside.
This is the kind of incident that can happen to anyone, and it is not the Mallorcan driver who will say the opposite, except that the Briton's wheel hit directly in the left leg of the local driver. 'stage. Bottom line, not only an abandonment of no real importance for the test pilot Bradley Smith but, above all, the pillar of the Aprilia team who found himself injured in the knee, so much so that he had to be carried so that he could get off his bike.
The native of Granollers was already very disappointed yesterday: “ I'm frustrated, very sad, it's one of the worst Saturdays at home of my career.".
We can't imagine today...
This is particularly bad since official tests take place tomorrow on the Catalan circuit.
At the time of publishing this article, no details regarding the state of health ofAleix Espargaró who went to the clinic Quiron Dexeus has not yet been released.
Bradley Smith, he was penalized by 3 places on the grid during his next race…
Aleix Espargaró : “What a year we’ve had, what bad luck…. Bradley hit me very hard and I said goodbye to my home race after a warm-up with good feelings! For the moment, a lot of bone edema which does not show damage to the ligaments... Let's wait until tomorrow! But these are the races, so why so serious? ".
Massimo rivola : “It’s undoubtedly a difficult time for us and Aleix’s injury is the most pressing issue at the moment. He is a pillar of our team and we hope to see him back in the saddle as soon as possible. What's even more disappointing is that it was Bradley who caused the accident and is working on the development of the bike. These episodes should not happen. Andrea had a good race, positive in his first part, then crashed towards the end, probably due to tire wear. We are making significant efforts to develop our project, but for the moment, the results are not very encouraging. We have an important developmental test tomorrow looking forward and this injury was the last thing we needed, but we are absolutely united in our determination to turn things around. No matter how hard and long we have to work. We'll make it ".
Bradley Smith : “I'm sorry for what happened today, especially since Aleix was involved. Unfortunately, in this braking section the situation was a bit chaotic, as is often the case in the first laps. I hope he recovers quickly. For now, we must work with all our potential to develop RS-GP.”
Ranking of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona:
Photo credits and classification: MotoGP.com
