Aldeguer apologizes to Bagnaia but defends himself: “I don’t think I made such a crazy move.”

The apologies came immediately, but not the climbdown. Fermin Aldeguer went to the Ducati garage after the Qatar Sprint to apologise to Pecco Bagnaia, but in front of the cameras he defended the overtaking attempt that sent the Piedmontese rider flying. His stance has done nothing to quell the controversy; if anything, some in the paddock argue that the Spaniard should not even have been allowed to start.

Bagnaia has paid a heavy price: fractures to the fourth and fifth metatarsals in his right foot, and his weekend is over, as we reported in Bagnaia injured, Qatar GP over: how the Ducati rider is doing. Aldeguer, returning after missing Australia and Malaysia through injury, was handed a double Long Lap penalty, which he served during the Sprint restart before finishing 11th.

The Gresini rider retraced the moments leading up to the contact, starting with his battle with Pedro Acosta, who had a poor exit from Turn 15. "First of all, I want to apologise to Pecco and the team. I've already been to his garage and tried to explain as clearly as possible what happened. The crash looked spectacular, but I don't think I made such a crazy move, from my point of view". He says the problem was the dirty line: "We know that here in Qatar, when you go off the racing line, it's a bit of a lottery. I wasn't able to brake the bike the way I wanted to".

Aldeguer also denies braking too late: "The problem is that Pecco was taking a much wider line, setting himself up for the corner exit, and I found him right in front of me". Speaking to Spanish TV, he said: "It wasn't even a huge touch, but it's true that I hit his rear wheel and that spectacular crash happened. It turned out better than it could have, and that's the most important thing".

His tone was not always the same. Speaking to Sky Sport, the Spaniard seemed harsher on himself: "Mine was a serious mistake, but unfortunately, this is part of racing too".

On the sporting front, Aldeguer did not change tyres for the restart because he was expecting a penalty, and after serving both Long Laps he still found a pace he was happy with. Asked about the calendar, he said that 44 races a season is definitely too many and that riders should unite to find a solution. Now comes the Lusail feature race: he is looking to bounce back, while the factory Ducati team will have to race without Bagnaia.

-> Follow us on Instagram too: @Corsedimoto