Accident with Franco Morbidelli, Aleix Espargaró goes down flat

Franco Morbidelli on Aleix Espargaró and then on the ground was one of the most shocking moments of the Valencia Grand Prix that concluded the 2025 MotoGP season. In fact, the collision between the two occurred on the starting grid, before the race even started. Getting the worst of it was the Italian-Brazilian, who also suffered a fractured hand that forced him to miss Tuesday’s testing. However, the Catalan also experienced a difficult Sunday, culminating in his retirement due to technical difficulties. And in the meantime also came his judgment on the’episode.

“I felt the impact and then I saw Morbidelli on the ground. I couldn–t believe it,– Espargaró admitted -To see a rider down on the grid in the’last race of the year is horrible, I felt bad. We have to stay focused, though. One issue is colliding like it always happened to me and Morbidelli on the grid at Mugello. We had a lot of speed there. But if you are stationary there is no point”.

“I was in the middle of the grid, not starting from 23rd place– insisted Espargaró -. My impression is that in general we need more attention. I feel very sorry for Morbidelli, who was injured and I hope he can recover soon. But he destroyed the bike and bent exhausts, lowerers, brakes. Not to mention that if he had hit my foot he&#8217d have torn it apart”.

Espargaró then also went into the merits of his retirement, explaining that it too stemmed from the clash with Morbidelli. “After the impact I wanted to check the damage to my bike, noticing that some pieces of his wings were in my exhausts. I tried to remove them, but a piece was left on the outside and that is what flew off. Then there was the lowerer that didn&#8217t go, the exhaust was bent and the engine brake exhaust valve ripped off. So the footpeg screw also came loose, and I had to retire” illustrated the Honda centaur.