Race direction error “ruined” Valencia MotoGP qualifying

The Aprilia rider was left baffled at the end of Friday for a mystifying lack of pace, but was much stronger on Saturday, topping FP3 in the morning.

Despite a small crash in FP4, Espargaro continued his strong form in the session and was on course for a strong qualifying.

But he was caught out in the closing stages by the yellow flags for Francesco Bagnaia’s crash at Turn 2, and…