Espargaró remained in podium position during the 20 laps of the MotoGP race at Silverstone and fended off Jack Miller in the last one to get his second spot in the category after the 2014 Aragón GP .
Thus, it also gave Aprilia its first podium finish in the MotoGP era, the first for the Noale-based manufacturer since Donington Park in 2000 (500cc).
All Aprilia podiums in 500cc/MotoGP
| Year | Big prize | Pilot | Position |
| 1997 | Holland | Dorian Romboni | 3rd |
| 1999 | France | Tetsuya Harada | 3rd |
| 1999 | Britain | Tetsuya Harada | 3rd |
| 2000 | Italy | Jeremy McWilliams | 3rd |
| 2000 | Britain | Jeremy McWilliams | 3rd |
| 2021 | Britain | Aleix Espargaro | 3rd |
Viñales’ decision to leave Yamaha for Aprilia was initially questioned, but Espargaro says his result at the British GP has shown that the change is not like taking “10 steps back”.
The result of the #41 came just two weeks after Aprilia confirmed the signing of Maverick Viñales for 2022 after his suspension and definitive separation from Yamaha after the double date in Austria.
“Regarding Maverick, yes, obviously if someone tells you at the beginning of the season that you are going to break with Yamaha and go to Aprilia, you would tell them that it is 10 steps back,” Espargaró said. “Obviously the way he ended up with Yamaha was not pretty, but it’s not that bad because the Aprilia is a competitive bike.
“We are not at the level of the Yamahas yet, of course, but we are on the way and I think he will enjoy riding the Aprilia. Yes, he will have to adapt because it is a completely different story than the Yamaha, but as I have shown today the bike is in the path”.
(Before reading on, click on this link to see the first photos of Maverick Viñales with Aprilia)
Commenting on his last lap battle with Miller to secure the podium, Espargaró admits he made a mistake in his approach as he was too focused on trying to catch up with Álex Rins who was second.
“On the last lap I made a big mistake because I was focused only on Alex to try to attack him for second place and I didn’t really care who was coming,” explained Espargaro. “And this was a big mistake because I opened the gate at the last chicane.”
“But I think today I rode quite smoothly, quite intelligently, saving the rear tire to have more traction than Jack. Then I was able to get back to third position. Today [Sunday] the podium was mine, I was fully convinced,” he clinched.
