The second free practice of the MotoGP Qatar GP was marked by controversy between Aleix Espargaró and Franco Morbidelli. The Spanish rider from Aprilia felt hindered by the slow pace of the Monster Energy Yamaha rival in the racing line, even slapping his helmet on the track.
The gesture earned him strong criticism from Morbidelli and a six-place grid penalty for the main race in Losail. On social media, Espargaró admitted he didn’t deal well with the situation and had an unnecessary reaction, losing his temper with the Italian:
– Here I am with my leg up. The truth is, it was a day to forget, first with the incident with Morbidelli, where I had a very bad reaction. He was cruising on the track, nearly hit me twice for going in the middle of the trajectory. Then he didn’t let me back on the track, and I lost my temper with a totally disproportionate reaction and received a penalty, which in my view is too much, but I accept it because obviously the image is not good.