Raul Fernandez has addressed his angry exchange with Marco Bezzecchi during the warm-up for the Indonesian Grand Prix.
Fernandez was lining up to complete his practice start at the end of the session when Bezzecchi appeared to nudge his rear tyre.
The Trackhouse rider turned round and waved his arm at his Aprilia stablemate, who shrugged his shoulders as if he were confused by the reaction.
Raul Fernandez says Aprilia have now ‘calmed the waters’ after Marco Bezzecchi dispute
The spat came after the pair collided at the start of Saturday’s Sprint race. Fernandez started on pole but he dropped to fourth on the entry to the first corner as Bezzecchi, Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio inched ahead.
However, Bezzecchi drifted wide and tangled with Fernandez on the outside of the corner, ending both riders’ races. There was no penalty handed out for the incident, but it did leave the Spaniard with two broken fingers.
Speaking to DAZN, Fernandez revealed that there was a meeting between Aprilia and Trackhouse before the race to ‘calm the waters’. After accusing Bezzecchi of being ‘unprofessional’ and ignoring team instructions on Saturday, he wanted to de-escalate the situation.
“Well, this morning, he wanted to play games,” Fernandez said. “I told him: ‘If you want to play, we’ll play, but it’s not worth it.’ We’re two people staying with Aprilia, and we have to put on a good image for the brand.
“After the warm-up, we’ve had a meeting with Massimo Rivola, Fabiano Sterlacchini, and Davide Brivio, and I’ve been clear with them. I told them: ‘I’m not here to play games with anyone.’
“I think it wasn’t the right moment, and together, we’ve calmed the waters.”
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Fernandez had to change his braking technique on Sunday due to his broken finger but he still held the lead for much of the race before eventually losing out to Bezzecchi. Aprilia finished one-two-three-four, with Jorge Martin completing the podium ahead of Ai Ogura.
Bezzecchi had mixed emotions after the race due to the lost points on Saturday, while Fernandez could take heart from ending a four-race podium drought on the back of his first premier-class pole position.
Source: MGP