On March 6, not only did the MotoGP season begin. For Aleix Espargaró, 63 days have passed since fate gave him the opportunity to have a new life: that of a pilot who decided to stand up to fortune, stop being in the shadows and become one of the fortuitous contenders for the title in 2022.
With an RS-GP prepared to give its best and a concession program covering its back, Aprilia kicked off a dream year in Qatar. In a season with 24 bikes on the grid, Aleix Espargaró began to achieve, in an undeniable way, what in other years could not be more than an illusion on a table in Noale.
But that was only the beginning. A couple of weeks later, Aleix Espargaró would already be savoring a historic victory in Argentina that made him a slave to success, and this weekend, the driver from Granollers gave his team the third podium of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix.
After crossing the checkered flag, tears let him glimpse what was happening on the Andalusian circuit. It was real. The stopwatch proved him right. The name Aleix Espargaró was second overall.
Having the current world champion as the closest reference is not a privilege that anyone can boast of. To beat Jack Miller and Marc Márquez in a date where they were hopelessly strong in the past, either.
And so it was that, for the first time in seven years, at the same time that Aprilia was running out of concessions, Aleix Espargaró was awaiting a new course in the championship. Noale’s team will not have unlimited tests or nine engines, but it will have a potential champion in its ranks capable of giving everything to make his team a serious contender in 2022.
