“At the end I saw an opportunity to get past Marquez, but now is not the day to mess with it.”
With a soft rear tire on Saturday, Aleix Espargaro took pole position and won the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix sprint. On Sunday, although logic dictated that the course for the race was average, some drivers defied the logic, including Pedro Acosta, who came to lead the race, and Marc Marquez, who started 14th and finished on the podium, 52 thousandths ahead of Aley.
“The middle rear wheel was not working properly at all, it had no grip,” the Catalan complained at the end of the day.
“It was a shame. I couldn’t brake well or go fast and when I saw the Ducatis leaving I tried but they were able to make it work but not us,” he explained.
Aleix won on Saturday with a soft tire and might have been his best option for Sunday given what he saw.
“It’s hard to say if I would have been on the soft tires at the front with them,” he said, referring to Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. “But yesterday with this tire she looked like them, similar. But today, when the Ducati were flying on the medium tire, it was a shock that they took 10 seconds off us at the finish line, we did not expect this at all. They did it”. good job, they have improved a lot and we haven’t improved from last year,” with Aprilias drawing 1-2 on Sunday with Maverick Viñales supporting Aleisha.
Despite narrowly missing the podium, Espargaro was still under a cloud, announcing on Thursday that he would retire at the end of the season.
“It was a great weekend, also in sporting terms: we took a lot of points, pole, victory in the sprint and fourth place in the race, I think we should be content with that. As for the emotions I think it was “probably the best weekend of my life, the love of the people, I will always remember it.”
“Last year’s double win was impressive and very difficult to improve on at a sporting level, but the love that people showed me this weekend is recognition for me that is very, very valuable. So maybe it’s better, but I will remember both with great fondness.
“I really enjoyed every moment of the weekend, it was hard not to get excited, I tried to soak up all the good feelings people gave me.”
As for the race, in the end Aleish had little choice when he came very close to the podium, which was closed by Marc Marquez who finished third, and after the race he admitted: “I’m very sorry for Aleish, it was bad. to take the podium from him in his last race here at the track.”
“I tried everything until the very end,” Espargaro continued. “I didn’t have any traction but I had to try, in the end I had a small chance of getting to the finish line but I didn’t want to mess it up, I knew we would collide if I tried and I think it was not a weekend, not a place, not a moment, not a Mark,” the “captain” decided.
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team, Massimo Rivola, CEO Aprilia Racing
Photo: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images