Fermin Aldeguer has defended his actions following the collision with Francesco Bagnaia, which left the Ducati rider injured during the sprint of the Qatar Grand Prix. Aldeguer, who was competing with Pedro Acosta’s KTM for sixth place, attempted an overtaking maneuver in the last corner, but was unable to slow down adequately, causing him to collide with Bagnaia, who was in front of him in fifth place.
The impact sent Bagnaia flying through the air, resulting in a brutal crash on the track. The race was immediately halted due to the severity of the incident, and the officials penalized Aldeguer with two long penalties during the subsequent re-entry, which was reduced to ten laps.
While accepting his responsibility, Aldeguer insisted that his maneuver was not as risky as it appeared, despite the seriousness of the consequences. ‘Clearly, if you look at the accident, it seems spectacular, as if it were out of place. But in the end, it wasn’t exactly a crazy maneuver,’ Aldeguer told the media.
The rider explained that he had spotted the opportunity to regain Acosta’s position, who had gotten a bad exit from the previous corner. ‘We knew that in Qatar, if you go off the line, it’s a lottery. So I couldn’t brake as well as I would have liked,’ Aldeguer said, admitting he tried to avoid contact until the last moment.
After the accident, Bagnaia was taken to the medical center, where fractures were detected in two bones of his right foot. The Italian rider has been declared unfit to compete in Sunday’s Grand Prix, and his participation in the remaining races of the season in Portugal and Valencia is uncertain while he awaits a decision on possible surgery.
Aldeguer stated that he had already apologized to Bagnaia and the Ducati team, which directly supports him as a factory rider. ‘Above all, I would like to apologize to Pecco and the team. I tried to explain the incident as clearly as possible,’ he declared.
Upon visiting the Ducati garage, Aldeguer received varied reactions. ‘At the end of the day, some understand that this is competition and that these things can happen, while others take it more personally,’ he added.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_f174aeecb19248dbb9d9b6b8107ce25336212c33