Aleix Espargaro was clear from the start of MotoGP’s title-deciding Solidarity Grand Prix weekend that if he had chance to help Jorge Martin seal the championship, he’d do it - because of both their close friendship and because it would mean Martin would arrive at Espargaro’s beloved Aprilia team with the #1 plate.
On Sunday he proved he meant it, much to the displeasure of title-chaser Pecco Bagnaia’s works Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini.
Qualifying second had put Espargaro firmly in position to get involved, but a poor start took him straight out of the sprint fight.
He got away badly in the main race too but while that meant he wasn’t able to attack Bagnaia for the victory he initially felt was possible, Espargaro’s fifth position behind Martin and Bastianini gave him a clear opportunity to assist his friend.
And he did - going emphatically into battle against Bastianini in a constant place-swapping dice until Bastianini went off-track at the first corner and dropped back to an eventual seventh.
Asked by The Race if he felt Espargaro hadn’t actually been trying to get his own maximum result, Bastianini firmly agreed.
He argued it was inappropriate for a rider who wasn’t even a team-mate of a title contender to get involved in that way.
“I’m not happy about what Aleix did because for me it’s not correct. He is not a team-mate [of Martin],” Bastianini said.
“Without the fight with Aleix it probably was possible to do something more for myself.
“But he did all the race for Martin. Of course he is really friends with Jorge but for the rest on the track you can’t do something like this.”
Espargaro readily admitted he’d been actively trying to help Martin.
“We talked a little bit before the race. We both had the feeling that it was all the Ducatis against him, which is completely normal, they’re trying to retain the title,” he said.
“The feeling that I had was that I was the only one to protect my ‘little brother’ and his title.
“I was riding more on the limit of the bike than ever in my career, trying to protect him as much as possible.”
But he clarified that didn’t mean he was actively trying to obstruct Martin’s pursuers or riding below his own best pace, and he bluntly dismissed Bastianini’s stance when asked about his comments by The Race.
“They told me that Enea said it’s not beautiful to end a career like this, not fighting for a podium, and the only thing I would respond to that with was that on the last lap I was waiting for him to fight but he was three seconds behind me with a factory Ducati so I don’t know what he was referring to,” Espargaro replied.
“Alex Marquez did an amazing race and he beat me. Enea couldn’t.
“I did the maximum possible. If he thinks that I tried to be slow, it’s impossible. I rode over the limit. I was the only one able to put a bike in the middle of the Ducati mix. I was over the limit always.”
Alex Marquez was equally dismissive of Bastianini’s argument when asked about it and his own battle for fourth with Espargaro by The Race.
“Enea did a mistake, like the last race here when he put the fault on me but it wasn't my fault,” said Marquez, referring to their dice in the May race at Barcelona when Bastianini cut the track but argued Marquez had forced him off.
“It's like when he has some problem, he always needs to say who is at fault [apart from himself].
“It was fair. Aleix was trying to make his maximum in his last race, and he did. He [Bastianini] did a mistake, and that's it.”
Did Marquez help Bagnaia?
You wouldn’t expect Marc Marquez to do anyone any favours, but as he chased Bagnaia for the race victory on Sunday it felt unlikely that he would try anything too risky on the works Ducati team’s title hope two days before he walks into that garage as a 2025 rider and Bagnaia’s new team-mate.
Marquez was adamant he’d been willing to pass Bagnaia if the opportunity had arisen though, it was just that the factory bike was too strong as the race progressed.
“In one part of the race I thought ‘hmm, maybe it’s possible’ but then whenever I was close to Pecco, I never found a clear place to overtake him because at every point I arrived too far behind,” said Marquez, who finished 1.4 seconds adrift of Bagnaia in second at the end.
“I was catching him a lot at the left turns - Turn 5, Turn 7 - but unluckily that was only two turns. He was doing very well at Turn 10. It’s there where I was thinking but then on the last laps with the used tyre he was smooth and I was struggling a bit too much and it was time to use the mind.”
