For Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro, the triumph at the Argentine Grand Prix was a redemption he will always remember in more ways than one
Since Aleix Espargaro’s acclaimed triumph at the Argentine Grand Prix at Termas de Rio Hondo, all 24 riders competing in the MotoGP class this year have also been Grand Prix winners. Espargaro had been without a win until Sunday, as the Spaniard had never won a race in the World Championship classes below the premier class.
The redemption in the form of the first victory came for Espargaro at his 200th MotoGP race. On the one hand, of course, he will remember this for the rest of his life because of the scenes from Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.
But Espargaro will also never forget his first Grand Prix victory for another reason. Because he had the date 3 April 2022 tattooed on both wrists this week.
“Before, I believed I could win. Now I know I can win,” Espargaro said Thursday in Austin in preparation for the first race that he too will now tackle as a Grand Prix winner.
“There was no pressure to win,” the Aprilia rider reflects, adding: “I am a very happy person. My dream was to have a family. I have that and it’s great. What I do professionally is my passion. I ride a motorbike. Whether I finish a race as a winner or not doesn’t change the big picture. But I knew I could do it and that gave me the confidence to actually achieve it. “
Just like his younger brother Pol Espargaro, Aleix Espargaro is generally considered to be a happy and positive person. “I always had a good feeling during the past two years and I was convinced I was riding better than ever,” confirmed the Aprilia rider.
“When I said that I was one of the best riders, I really believed it,” said Aleix Espargaro, adding, “Sure, every rider thinks like that. But I didn’t say it just to say it. I really believed it. But this feeling alone is not enough. You also need a good bike. And Aprilia has given me a really good bike this year. Thanks to the speed we have, I expect a really good season for us. “
Aleix Espargaro also took the lead in the MotoGP standings for the first time with his maiden victory last weekend. And it is also the first time for Aprilia that a rider has topped the points standings in the premier class of the World Motorcycle Championship.
“That sounds really good,” says Espargaro about the championship lead, but doesn’t expect the coming races to be any easier for him and Aprilia: “The field is extremely balanced this year. Winning a race this year is maybe even more difficult than it already is.”
How the rest of the season will go in detail remains to be seen. Aprilia faces the loss of concessions (more engines, more testing) for the 2023 season if it continues to win, and at the moment the Italian manufacturer is the only one of the six in the MotoGP field to enjoy these benefits.
This weekend, the race will be held at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin. And at least there, things have not been going well at all for Espargaro and Aprilia lately. In the course of the 2021 race weekend (back in October), Espargaro suffered no fewer than five crashes.