Ducati rival Enea Bastianini hit out at Aprilia rival Aleix Espargaro after the Barcelona Grand Prix, claiming he spent the entire race supporting his friend Jorge Martin‘s title bid.
After a slow start from second on the grid, Espargaro settled into fourth place in Barcelona, acting as a rear-gunner for championship protagonist Martin, who couldn’t afford to lose too many positions in his title fight with Francesco Bagnaia.
Bastianini challenged the Aprilia of Espargaro for the first third of the race, but the Spaniard retaliated every time he made a move.
The Italian eventually came home in seventh position after a mistake at the exit of Turn 1 forced him to take the escape road, leaving him to squabble for a place in the lower region of the top 10.
It meant he lost the battle with Marc Marquez for third place in the championship, with the Gresini rider finishing on the podium in second behind race winner Bagnaia.
Following the race, Bastianini made it clear that he found Espargaro’s defence unprofessional, especially as the Aprilia rider was competing in his last grand prix as a full-time racer.
“I lost much time with Aleix today and it has been impossible to do more than my result. Not happy about what Aleix had done because for me it’s not correct,” said the Italian.
“Without the fight with Aleix, [it] probably was possible to do something more for myself but he did all the race for Martin.
“Well, of course, he is really friends with Jorge. but for the rest on the track you can’t do something like this.”
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
He added: “It was his last race and maybe he could have achieved a better result or even fought for the podium,” reflected a visibly angry Bastianini.
“I understand that he has a great friendship with Jorge, but he has destroyed the race of other riders. There are things that should not happen in a championship like ours.”
Pramac rider Martin took the chequered flag in third place in Barcelona to beat race winner Bagnaia by 10 points in the championship.
It made him the first-ever rider to win a title on a satellite bike in the MotoGP era, and first in the history of the premier class since Valentino Rossi’s triumph in 2001 on a Nastro Azzurro Honda.
It also meant that Martin will go to Espargaro’s current team Aprilia as the reigning world champion in 2025, having signed a two-year deal with the Borgo Panigale marque.
Espargaro admitted that he wanted to support Martin in the latter’s pursuit of the title, describing his countryman as a “little brother”.
“We both had a feeling that it was all the Ducatis against him, which is completely normal,” said Espargaro.
“They tried to retain the title and the feeling I had was I was the only one to protect my little brother and his title.
“So even when I was on the grid, [it was] very motivating for me because it was the last one.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“Once the race had started I was completely focused, I rode on the limit of the bike more than ever in my career, trying to protect him [Martin] as much as possible, and I’m very happy and proud to be able to help him a little bit.”
However, Espargaro denied that he wasn’t riding slowly on purpose in order to prevent the likes of Bastianini from catching Martin.
He referred to his hard-fought battle with the Gresini Ducati of Alex Marquez, which ended with him losing fourth place on the penultimate lap, as proof that he was pushing as hard he could in his final grand prix appearance.
Responding to Bastianini’s allegations, Espargaro fired back by saying the Italian was simply too slow for someone riding a factory Ducati bike.
“They told me that Enea said that it’s not beautiful to end a career like this, not fighting for the podium,” he said.
“The only thing I will respond [to is that] it’s not fair to say this. In the last lap I was waiting for him to fight but he was three seconds behind me with the factory Ducati. So I don’t know what he was referring to.
“Alex Marquez did an amazing race and he beat me and Enea couldn’t. So 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 to be able to put a bike in the middle of the Ducati mix. So I was over the limit all the race.”
