Aleix Espargaró was fighting for victory at the Catalunya Grand Prix when a mistake on the last lap cost him his race. The driver from Granollers had finished the penultimate lap when, due to an error, he interpreted that the test had finished.
In this way, the Spaniard stopped to greet the fans, on the occasion of running his home Grand Prix, without realizing that the race was still in progress. This meant an immediate loss of positions for the Aprilia rider, who was forced to give up three places due to this mistake and the time he lost.
The incident caused confusion among the fans, since they interpreted that the problem was with the bike, perhaps an engine failure, not an oversight by Aleix, which had caused the Aprilia to lose speed.
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Aleix Espargaró could have closed the podium in second or third position, depending on the outcome of his fight with Jorge Martín, but this mistake closed the doors of the most special podium of the year. Finally, Espargaró crossed the finish line in fifth place.
After finishing the race, the driver from Granollers was inconsolable. The paddock, moved by the situation, took the form of Carmelo Ezpeleta, who went to the Aprilia box to comfort him.
The Aprilia rider was going to race for the first time in his career with the possibility of leaving “his” circuit as the leader of a world championship and as one of the firm candidates for victory. Neither of these two possibilities was going to be fulfilled, but Aleix had secured a podium position that he lost due to an oversight.
But there was also one last reason why Aleix’s podium would have been special in this Catalan GP. The pilot wore a special helmet, dedicated to his daughter Mia and as a tribute to the Corall Family association, which helped them when the little girl was diagnosed with congenital heart disease shortly after birth.
