MotoGP | Aleix retracts: “Words distorted, the Spanish press is clickbait”

The topic of Thursday at the Austrian Grand Prix was the passport. Carmelo Ezpeleta’s proposal to select the best of the different nationalities to have more homogeneity on the starting grid met with firm opposition from most of the riders. This comes in the wake of the choice (still unconfirmed) to bring Jack Miller to Pramac because he is Australian.

The news did not leave Aleix Espargaro indifferent, who yesterday commented on the decisions on the 2025 rider market. But not only Miller, the Catalan also wanted to have his say on the situation of Franco Morbidelli, officially confirmed in VR46 for next year. According to the Granollers rider, the presence of certain riders on the grid (for one reason or another) prevents young riders from moving up and in his statements on Thursday he defined this mechanism as unfair.

His words sparked controversy, as often happens. So, after Morbidelli’s response on Friday at the Red Bull Ring, Aleix Espargaro also wanted to have his say, accusing the press of having misinterpreted his statements for a few more clicks: “They put certain words in my mouth, that I found it ridiculous that Jack Miller had a motorbike, but I didn’t say it. But we know that clickbait exists and we know the Spanish press, it’s nothing new”.

Thus, Espargaro wanted to justify his statements by claiming that he had brought the situation back to himself: “I was talking about myself, if I felt I was no longer competitive. If my teammates or brand mates, with the same bike, were in front of me, I would leave. That’s how I feel. I said I’m very happy that Trackhouse took Ogura because it’s right to give opportunities to young people”.

The Aprilia rider himself announced just three months ago that he would retire from racing at the end of the season after years in the paddock, where he had achieved success but also struggled (“I achieved more than I had hoped for in my career, I don’t think I’ve ever had the talent of my brother or other riders here,” he said at the time): “I said that this year I don’t feel the desire to come to the races that I had before, so I decided to stop.”

“This is what I said, I never said it was unfair that Jack had a bike, he loves bikes even more than me maybe. If someone wants to give him a bike, fine. But I don’t think it’s fair to block other riders, Sergio Garcia or Tony Arbolino deserve a bike. I have nothing against Jack, I could say the same thing for Franco Morbidelli, but also for Miguel Oliveira. We have the results here. This is how I feel, but I never said what is written in the headlines I read,” the Catalan justified himself.

However, Aleix did not criticize the teams that decide to continue to focus on veterans (he is the oldest on the grid this year): “It’s just my opinion, but I gave it thinking of myself as a driver. If I felt that way and if I were in their situation, I would step aside. But if they want to continue and there is a team that hires them, that’s fine”.