Elbows Down

It’s finally race week! After a 3-week long spring break, riders will be back on track this weekend at Mugello. With 22 riders on this years grid, we all know how hard it can be to keep up with what they’ve been up to on the break. Here’s an overview of what you might have missed…

Marc’s all loved up

In a cryptic Instagram story on Friday afternoon, Marc Marquez posted a photo of a pair of holding hands. In true Twitter style, the lucky lady was revealed to be Gemma Pinto, a PR manger from Spain.

In true brotherly style, Álex teased Marc over the announcement, replying to tweets about the situation with “I don’t know anything! Adiós, we have lost a soldier” [translated from Spanish].

Although still a new relationship, Marc and Gemma seem really happy together, and she even gets the stamp of approval from the dachshunds.

The Pecco vs The press escalates further

After a weekend of paddock in-fighting, press stirring, and some rather entertaining memes, Pecco has issued a response to THOSE comments from Le Mans.

In an interview conducted in Italian, Pecco Bagnaia was questioned on possible ways to increase safety, after the several high-speed crashes seen this season. He claimed that “everyone can win, there are no longer 6-7 tenths that there were before, between factory and satellite bikes, which I think is needed” he went on to say that “Augusto Fernandez was 4th today, and it’s his rookie season”. The full interview, with English subtitles, can be watched on MotoGP’s official YouTube, here.

Understandably, his comments have ruffled a few feathers, sparking a debate about rider ability vs bike technicality, the thrill of close racing, and the role of rookies on the grid. As well as promoting some – blunt – words from GasGas Tech 3 owner Herve Poncharal. To say it got heated would be an understatement.

Pecco broke his silence on the controversy in an exclusive interview with Autosport, expressing concern that “What has been published is out of context due to the interpretation made by some people,”. After clarifying some meaning, he finished with a sharp “From now on I will only talk about the sport, which is what I know best, and I will leave the rest to others. I’m tired of having to justify every word that is taken out of context as a pretext to open a controversy.”. You can read the full interview on Autosport’s website, here.

One thing this is not taken out of context, is how often Pecco finds himself in these PR fiascos.

We have another update on Pol!

Still recovering from that horrific crash in Portugal, Pol Espargaró has been relatively quiet in his recovery. However, his brother, Aleix Espargaró, has been keeping us a few updates on how he’s doing.

In a tweet, Aleix let us know that he is in good spirits, and will hopefully show his face in Mugello. Unfortunately, Pol will not be on a bike, as GasGas confirmed on Monday (5th June) that he will be continuing his recovery.

MotoGP heads to Hollywood

Pecco is diversifying his skillset yet again, this time heading to the Disney Pixar studios. He will voice the character of the cloud, in the Italian version of Disney’s Elemental film.

It opens in cinemas on June 21st, and you can see the official release with Pecco here (note: the video is in Italian)

Aprilia All-stars raised €200,000 for the Emilia Romagna food relief

The East Coast of Italy experienced fatal flooding in May, after record rainfall caused several rivers to burst their banks. Unfortunately, almost 20 lost their lives, and thousands more have been displaced.

The relief effort become the focus of Aprilia’s annual “All-Stars” event, where their biggest riders of past and present come together to celebrate all things Aprilia. Along with 15,000 fans, they successfully raised over €200,000, with Aprilia themselves donating €10 for every attendee.

Some stars in attendance included Aleix Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira, Raul Fernandez, Max Biaggi, and many others.

Hopefully this round-up has left you suitably up to date on all the off-paddock action, and ready for the next round of the championship, starting on Friday 9th in Italy.