Raul Fernandez blames Jorge Martin for the crash, Aleix Espargaro steps in: "Are you kidding?

The Trackhouse team rider is in the crosshairs of the Martinator and the Aprilia team for his maneuver, but the direct party involved shifts the responsibility onto his compatriot.

The MotoGP race in Catalunya saw three different starts due to crashes and red flags. In the third one, an episode that sparked much debate happened already on the first lap: the contact between Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin at Turn 5. The Trackhouse team rider dived up the inside and ended up touching his colleague, causing him to crash. Both ended up in the gravel and then rejoined, but the factory Aprilia rider subsequently returned to the garage due to the damage sustained by the bike. Meanwhile, the 2021 Moto2 vice world champion was classified last, following a 16-second penalty caused by an irregular tire pressure (he had crossed the line in sixteenth).

The incident at Turn 5 did not result in any sanctions for Fernandez, despite the initial investigation. The footage also showed a very agitated Massimo Rivola heading to the front of the Trackhouse box to express his displeasure towards Davide Brivio, who commented on the incident to Sky Sport MotoGP as follows: "There was some space on the inside of that corner, Raul went in and then there was contact. It’s a racing incident. It was legitimate for Raul to attempt the overtake; probably Jorge tried to defend himself by closing the line. I don’t feel it’s the fault of one or the other. In fact, the stewards decided not to take action."

Fernandez, interviewed by DAZN España, blamed Martin for the incident and explained his version of what happened: "The situation I experienced seems a bit surreal to me, honestly. First of all, I’m sorry for my team, which did a great job over the weekend. I’m also very sorry for Aprilia, but there’s a moment when Jorge doesn’t manage everything well. The same corner saw something similar on Saturday, and today it was even clearer. He brakes very early, I decide to go in; there’s a moment where you can clearly see that when he’s about to lean the bike, he picks it up because he sees someone coming. And when he picks it up, he leans the bike again and releases the brake. Seeing the images and the telemetry, I’m disappointed with the maneuver he made, because I don’t think it was correct. He saw me perfectly well, there’s not much to say. I’m sorry for my team, we had the pace to fight for the podium."

Raul’s comments sparked various discussions; many consider him responsible for the contact and complain that he was not penalized. Among those surprised by his words is Aleix Espargaro, Honda HRC tester and a close friend of Martin, who commented on the interview video on his official X profile as follows: "I understand these statements are a joke, a parody, right?".