Valentino Rossi says he snapped and lost his cool with Aleix Espargaro in today’s second MotoGP practice session at Misano because the Spaniard refused to apologise.
The hometown hero was seen gesticulating and offering more than one international gesture in the direction of the Ecstar Suzuki pilot after he felt he had held him up on track.
The Doctor ended the day sixth overall after he got caught up behind both Suzuki riders during FP2, but says he lost his cool because this was the second time in recent rounds that Espargaro had got in his way.
“I don’t know his behaviour, it’s not the first time because it happened exactly the same in Austria also,” he said. “I pushed and I arrived behind the two Suzukis and both saw me. Vinales slowed down but Espargaro remained on the line and I don’t know why.
“I say to him ‘what you do’ and he say to me ‘f**k you’ so for this I was angry because it’s enough to say sorry. But maybe they don’t know the way to say sorry, it’s better to say f**k you.”
Espargaro meanwhile protested his innocence, taking umbrage to a visit from race director Mike Webb who delivered a wrap on the knuckles and warned him to take better care in future.
“He came to the pits and he told me to be more aware, but I asked him if they checked the video and they said ‘yes, you were not in the middle, you did not disturb him’ and he said to me 'but anyway, be more aware’ and I said ‘I will not be aware if I did not disturb him.”
Handbags are expected to resume at dawn…
