Marquez: Controversy good for MotoGP | Aleix: Everybody perfect on social media

While racing incidents are part of the game, the penultimate Qatar round saw two examples of riders losing their temper in a practice session.

The first saw Pol Espargaro and Marco Bezzecchi cut each other up after the flag before Bezzecchi bumped Espargaro’s back wheel six times in the practice start zone.

A day later, it was Aleix Espargaro making the headlines when he lashed out and slapped Franco Morbidelli’s helmet after the pair had block passed each other several times, and run off track, for which the Aprilia rider received a 10,000 euro fine and six-place grid penalty.

“If you have more and more races in the championship, you have more chances to see these kinds of situations,” said Marc Marquez, no stranger to on-track controversy during his career.

“But in the end, if you are not involved [in it yourself], these kind of things are good for the championship! Because it creates the social media [interest].

“It's like this now. But it's also true that we need to take care for the image of the sport.”

Marquez had previously taken a similar view of the repeated TV replays in the immediate aftermath of Francesco Bagnaia’s scary lap one accident in Catalunya.

“For the riders, it’s very difficult to see that crash many, many times, especially when you need to go out again. But Pecco was good and Dorna had the information from the ambulance that he was good,” Marquez said.

“It’s part of the show. Maybe it’s not necessary to show it many, many times. But it's not my decision. In my case, I turned off the TV and was fully concentrated on my job.

“But then it's true that, for example, if you check the views on the internet from a crash compared to a race victory, it’s more views for the crash than the victory.

"So in the end, if people want to see that, the guys who produce the [TV] images must show it.

“But for the riders, it’s very difficult [to watch].”

Aleix: 'Those 3-4 seconds made me look like a person I am not'

Both Qatar practice flare-ups were ultimately solved amicably between the riders involved.

“Yeah, just kids like to have fun on track!” joked Pol Espargaro. “I have a very good relationship with Bez, but people need to understand we are literally at 190 bpm heart rate, with adrenaline up in the sky and we all do stupid things sometimes.

“But if nothing goes very bad and nothing goes wrong, it's better to step back a little bit. Just reach out a hand and move forward. Not generate more polemic.

“I really like Bez. He's a very good guy. We are competitors, we live like each other, we all do mistakes sometimes. It's OK. We will go for a beer tomorrow!”

The Aleix Espargaro/Morbidelli incident took longer to cool down but was resolved when the Spaniard went to see the Italian on the eve of the following Valencia round.

“It doesn't matter if I felt that it was his fault or my fault. My reaction [the helmet slap] was completely wrong,” Aleix said. “I'm very sorry and I think those 3-4 seconds make me look like a person that I am not. I feel very bad.

"I went to his motor home. I sat on the couch with him and I said sorry to him, I apologised.”

More races, more stress 'but we have to deal with it'

While Marquez felt more races equate to a greater chance of such clashes, Espargaro pointed the finger at the extra stress generated by a bigger calendar and the high-pressure Sprint race weekend format.

“You think that what happened with my brother and Bezzecchi was normal in Qatar? For me, it was not normal. Marco is a very good guy. Pol is very good guy. But our minds arrive in a certain place, and then the fatigue makes it difficult,” Aleix said.

With two more events added to the 2024 season, meaning a record 22 GPs and 22 Sprint races, the factory Aprilia race winner added that he will, “work to understand how I can deal better with the tension in very high-tension moments to not repeat the situation.

“The seasons are longer and longer. The schedule of the weekends is more and more tight. But we are professionals, we have to deal with it and this is one of the things that I have to learn for the 2024 season.

“But it's not a button that you can press. You are your way, I'm in my way. And how each of us reacts when you are full of tension is really difficult to control and really difficult to change.

“I'm working. And I will try. I changed quite a lot also my environment in the last two months [of the 2023 season], so I think this didn't help also. For example, my friend Juan, who was travelling with me for the last 10 years was not with me since India.

“Hopefully for ‘24 I will be better.”

Morbidelli earlier eluded to a direct relationship between an increase in pressure on the riders and a general decrease in 'respect' on track, citing incidents such as riders persistently seeking a tow and hand gestures (above) if there is a perception of being held up.

“Back in the day, the 'non-respect' moments in MotoGP were maybe the last 3 laps of a race," Morbidelli said. "Now that has spread throughout the whole weekend, from the first to last lap.

"This means there is a lot of pressure, and there is no respect whatsoever for the opponent. The opponent is the enemy! Grrrr! This is how it works now.”

‘Everybody is perfect on social media’

But, as Marquez indicated, a ‘harmless’ on-track incident can continue to resonate on social media long after the riders involved have buried the hatchet and moved on.

Aleix Espargaro, one of the few riders who still posts and engages with fans directly via his official accounts, said:

“Everybody with a telephone, when nobody can see them, is perfect. They are perfect humans. And I am not. So I fully accept the criticism, because I did a big mistake [with Morbidelli].

“I'm not defending my actions, it was completely wrong. But how many times [did you see this kind of thing happen] in sport… look at football.

“I know I will get again punished for this, but I don't care what people say about me on social media. I’m lucky. I have everything that I dreamed of.

“I went to talk with Franco because I felt, from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to sit with him on the couch and give him a hug. That's it. Not for the reaction [on social media].”

Brother Pol felt the ‘trauma’ of pushing a MotoGP bike to the limit week after week is not fully appreciated.

“I understand that in this new era of social media, where everyone can say any bullshit they want, that people like to talk.

“But I think it comes with some maturity and some intelligence that if you have not been in that situation - on a MotoGP bike at 360km/h, with this heart rate, with your adrenaline in the clouds - you cannot understand what we the riders are feeling and why we take some decisions that maybe are wrong.

“I'm not saying that what Aleix did was good or bad, or what Franco did was good or bad. I'm just saying that we all need to understand that in some moments, our situation as the riders is quite traumatic."

An alternative take on the intensity factor was provided by Fabio Quartararo, who fought for the world championship in 2020, 2021 (winning the title) and 2022.

The Frenchman said he felt less stress, despite the punishing schedule, in 2023, since he was out of title contention early with an uncompetitive Yamaha.

But he added his situation was an exception.

“To be honest, from my side, the last 3-4 years have been much more stressful because of the result I had in the championship,” Quartararo said.

“When you’re P1, P2 in the championship the stress is much higher. Now [end of 2023] I’m playing for nothing, just trying to do my best and get the best result possible.

“Of course, you are always stressed before the start of a race. But I know that if I make a bad result it won’t change my life.

“[2022], 2021 and 2020 was much more stressful for me. So that’s why I think I’m not the right guy to ask [about the calendar increasing rider stress].”