Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia claims he utilised a “false” rear brake to prevent a collision like the one that forced Marc Marquez to retire from the Indonesian Grand Prix.
Marquez, a six-time MotoGP world champion, was forced to withdraw from last Sunday’s Mandalika race after sustaining a concussion during a devastating high-side accident in the warm-up session.
At the time of the Honda rider’s Turn 1 collision, Aleix Espargaro was following him and became “very worried.”
Espargaro had two fairly large rear-end scares on Saturday, so he stiffened his Aprilia’s rear brake to the point where it did nothing when he stomped on it to prevent the rear coming around on him in a similarly spectacular fashion.
“I was two seconds behind him and I saw him fly,” Espargaro told DAZN of Marquez’s horrifying accident.
“I got really scared and actually cut the gas because I saw him on the ground like a dummy.
“When I got back to the box I told my guys that I had never seen a crash like that in my life.
“On Saturday I had two very big scares at that same point.
“And that’s why I decided to play with the rear brake spring [I stiffened it], so that when I stepped on it, it practically didn’t act; it was false. When I saw Marc’s crash I remembered that.”
Concerns over tyre safety at February’s Mandalika pre-season test led Michelin to take a construction from 2018 to the race, and Honda riders had had rear grip issues throughout the Indonesia weekend.
Although the earlier tyre carcass was built to handle harsh temps better, certain manufacturers suffered from severe rear traction issues.
As a consequence, Honda’s Pol Espargaro revealed on Saturday that he wasn’t sure he’d finish the race after placing 16 – having topped the February test – since the lack of rear grip was pushing him to over-stress the front.
Pol Espargaro finished 12th in the rainy Indonesian GP, while his brother Aleix finished ninth on the Aprilia after colliding with LCR’s Alex Marquez early in the race.
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