At the penultimate round of 2014, the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Alvaro Bautista and Aleix Espargaro saw their races end early after they collided at the beginning of the second lap.

Bautista was unable to avoid falling as a result of the impact from Espargaro’s machine coming into the first corner. It was disappointing for both Spaniards, who joined a list of eight riders who were unable to finish the race at Sepang.

Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Bautista commented, “I honestly don’t know how to explain what happened. I passed Aleix Espargaro on the straight early in the second lap and I was in front of him braking for the first corner. I was on the inside then he suddenly closed the line, touching me, and we both went down. Fortunately we’re fine, but I’m sorry for the team and for myself. Too bad, this is definitely not our season, we always have so many problems.”

Espargaro stated, “I made a made a good start and I pushed hard from the beginning to maintain the contact with the front group. It’s a pity that at Turn 1 on the second lap I went wide under braking and I touched Bautista. I couldn’t control the bike and crashed. I’m really sorry for Alvaro as I have spoiled his race and also mine. Fortunately we are both well.”

There was some consolation for Espargaro as results for the rest of the field confirmed him at the top rider in the Open category in MotoGP™ in 2014.

He added, “I’m happy we won the Open Championship. It’s a fantastic achievement for myself and the team. This year we have achieved important results and had great satisfactions. I’d like to thank all my team for their hard work, Yamaha for their support, all the sponsors and of course all the guys that work from the office.”