Moto2: Simoncelli: Bautista took the blame

The two riders clashed while leading the Jerez race by eight seconds over KTM's Mika Kallio, who inherited an unexpected win.

Simoncelli's Gilera crashed into Bautista's Aprilia and the two slid off the track and into the gravel, where they were then seen hugging each other.

It was thought that it was the Italian apologizing to the Spaniard for an overly optimistic move, but Simoncelli later explained that it was in fact the other way around, with Bautista slowing down suddenly with his engine breaking down.

"I was very quick in several places and under braking," Simoncelli explained to Italia1 television. "I was waiting for the end to try to win, but we didn't get there.

"In that quick left-hander he had a problem: when he got on the throttle his engine broke down. I was very close to him and couldn't do anything about it. I tried to avoid him, but there was nothing I could do."

Simoncelli has relieved that Bautista apologized, even though he had expected his rival to blame him.

"(When we were in the gravel) I knew he did something different compared to the other laps," Simoncelli said, "but when he turned towards me I thought: 'I bet he has something to complain about, this will end up with a slap-fight'.

"Instead he came to me and he was very good: he apologized and told me immediately he had a problem and his engine broke down. So we cleared things up on the spot, it was nice.

"In motorbikes no one likes each other, but in the end, deep down we all feel affectionate towards the others."