The MotoGP French Grand Prix at Le Mans ended with a heated discussion between Aleix Espargaró and Franco Morbidelli. It all started on the track and later spilled over into the paddock.
The Italian from Prima Pramac attempted to make a more aggressive and decisive overtake on Espargaró, his Aprilia rival, at the last corner of Sunday’s race, forcing him to run wide.
Espargaró finished the race in ninth place, while Morbidelli did not receive any penalty and crossed the finish line in seventh.
After the race, Espargaró confronted Morbidelli on the track, and later in the press center, the two riders were captured having a heated argument about the incident. Espargaró feels that Morbidelli should have been penalized, while Morbidelli criticized Espargaró’s behavior and argued that he made a normal overtaking maneuver.
— Motorcycle Sports (@MotorcycleSp) May 13, 2024
A bit of a discussion in the media centre between Aleix Espargaro and Franco Morbidelli. AE41 got the same treatment from FM21 as he did from Bastianini. Says that he would have crashed both times if he didnt sit up, and the stewards can’t just punish consequences pic.twitter.com/tVkiD0yki9
— Simon Patterson (@denkmit) May 12, 2024