Collisions, shoving, and tension in Barcelona – Aprilia invites all riders to Mugello for a meeting to establish how they will interact on the track in the future
Aprilia is working to defuse the explosive atmosphere following the events in Barcelona. During the last restart, Jorge Martin and Raul Fernandez collided on the first lap in Turn 5. That cost both of them a top result, possibly even podium finishes.
The fact that two Aprilia riders, of all people, had clashed did not sit well with Motorsport Director Massimo Rivola, who shot a dirty look in the direction of Trackhouse Team Principal Davide Brivio. The race stewards ruled it a racing incident.
Two weeks later, a meeting was held at Mugello with those involved and all four Aprilia riders. On Thursday, they sat down to resolve their differences and discuss how to interact with one another in the future.
“There was a joint meeting on Thursday,” Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora confirmed to MotoGP.com. “Everyone together—us and the Trackhouse guys.”
The Italian describes how it went: “It was very calm; everyone understood that it’s necessary to act more calmly during the race, especially when we’re fighting for points. So, everything is under control.“
Brivio also sees the tensions between the two racing teams as having been smoothed over following the discussion: ”It was a completely normal meeting where you simply ask the riders to respect each other, at least within our brand.”
“This isn’t really anything special. Normally, when something like this has happened in my career, we’ve sorted it out internally within the team. This time it was a meeting of the larger family,” Brivio told MotoGP.com, “and that’s completely normal, too.”
And what rules now apply to the four Aprilia riders? “Respect,” says Bonora. “Simply respect. Wait a little before making a move. Don’t attack if there isn’t enough space. And in the end: respect.“
The riders also commented on the discussion. Martin, however, did not want to comment in detail either on the Barcelona crash with Fernandez or on the meeting: ”I’ll just do whatever Massimo decides.”
Does Trackhouse have to help the factory team?
Aprilia has a great chance this year to become MotoGP World Champions for the first time. However, the chances of factory riders Marco Bezzecchi and Martin are slightly better than those of Trackhouse riders Fernandez and Ai Ogura.
Does that mean the Trackhouse riders will have to make way for the factory duo in the future? “We are Trackhouse,” says Fernandez. “We’re not thinking about winning the World Championship right now.”
“But as things stand today, we have a chance until the numbers say otherwise. And if we have a chance and the possibility of winning exists, why not?”
“We are Trackhouse, even if we ride Aprilia. If, with three races to go, only they have a chance and we have to help and act accordingly, then we’ll be the first to follow those instructions.“
”As of today, there are no team orders,“ Fernandez emphasizes, ”and I don’t think they’re necessary as long as we still have a mathematical chance to fight for the world championship.”
Ogura echoes this sentiment: “Of course, you don’t want to risk a crash. If an opportunity [to overtake] arises, I’ll attack if I think it’s possible. If not, then I won’t.”
Bonora isn’t angry at Martin for the shove in the pits
Immediately after the race in Barcelona, there were some unpleasant scenes in the factory team’s pit. In his initial reaction, Martin let his frustration get the better of him and shoved Bonora. Shortly afterward, Martin apologized in his interviews.
This situation has since been discussed and resolved. “Everything has been cleared up,” Bonora notes. “It wasn’t nice to see that on TV, but after that everything was clear because we trust him completely.”
“Honestly, I really like Jorge, and I like that passion because it shows that he thought he had lost his chance at points.” Bonora can understand the frustration and anger.
“Personally, I trust him completely. I like him, and I like his driving style and his passion. So, everything is under control; everything is fine now. He was disappointed because something similar happened on Saturday as it did on Sunday.
“He was so disappointed because he said—I can’t honestly repeat the exact words—but he meant: It’s happened again, it’s happened again.”
“It was pretty similar, but the consequences on Saturday weren’t as severe in the end as they were on Sunday. He knows he could have done something good. And yes, he lost the chance to score points.“
”That’s why we could completely understand his reaction,“ Bonora says, being lenient about the outburst in the heat of the moment. ”It wasn’t pretty to watch, but now everything has been cleared up.”
