P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Factory Aprilia duo were cleaned out by Morbidelli and Aldeguer in Barcelona sprint
Franco Morbidelli and Fermin Aldeguer were penalized for separate collisions during the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix sprint, which forced the factory Aprilia duo out of the race.
Aprilia, previously showing strong performance at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, couldn’t maintain their streak of podium challenges in the 2025 race sprint on Saturday.
Gresini Ducati’s Fermin Aldeguer caused Marco Bezzecchi’s crash on lap eight by trying to overtake him on the inside at Turn 5, resulting in a collision with the Aprilia rider.
Following the incident, Bezzecchi appeared uncomfortable, although only sustaining bruises according to Aprilia.
In a similar incident during the same race, Bezzecchi’s teammate Jorge Martin was taken out by VR46 Ducati’s Franco Morbidelli at Turn 10.
Both Morbidelli and Aldeguer were penalized with a single long lap to be served during Sunday’s grand prix race at Barcelona due to this being their second offence of the season.
If either rider fails to start Sunday’s grand prix due to their sprint-related incidents, the penalty will carry over to the next race they participate in, but if the non-start is due to an unrelated issue, the penalty will be considered served.
In a similar situation to Enea Bastianini in Hungary, if either Morbidelli or Aldeguer crashes during the grand prix before serving the penalty and can’t restart, the penalty will also be fulfilled.
