Second overall in the World Championship, 32 points behind the championship leader, Fabio Quartararo, the Spanish Aprilia rider finds himself, for the first time in his long career, before the opportunity to fight to be world champion, a completely new scenario for him , but at 33 years of age he sees it as a unique opportunity for which he is willing to fight to the bitter end.
Aleix Espargaró is the special guest of MotorsportNetwork’s ‘Por Orejas’ MotoGP Podcast, and during a long and relaxed talk, the Catalan rider reviewed the current situation of the championship, topics such as his current form, his physical preparation, the balance that his family, the relationship with Aprilia, the sprint races that will be implemented next season, the viability of a riders’ union, the suffering of his brother Pol Espargaró at Honda, KTM’s treatment of its riders, Ducati’s choice between Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martín or the lineup of riders for the new RNF-Aprilia for 2023, which is “very close to being announced”, he says, with Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández.
Aleix Espargaró, protagonist of the Motorsport.com MotoGP podcast
But one of the issues that is causing the most debate among fans this season is the lack of confrontation between the drivers contending for the title this year, a relationship of friendship and respect between Aleix himself, Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia that contrasts, absolutely , with the relationship that riders like Max Biaggi , Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner or Marc Márquez had in the past.
A ‘good vibe’ that, surely, if tightened to the point of causing sparks to fly, would result in an improvement in the interest of the great mass of sports fans in MotoGP.
“I have a very good relationship with Carlos and Carmelo Ezpeleta , Carlos came to my box on Saturday (from Austria) and we talked for more than an hour about the whole issue of sprint races, in the end I am one of the most experienced drivers in the championship and I always like to help and add”, explains Aleix during the podcast.
“The issue of what could be done so that more people are interested in the championship came up, and he made the same reflection, he told me: ‘I know that you liked that Fabio came to apologize to the box (for an Assen accident), but people don’t want that, people want the pique’, it is true that the rivalry likes the fans, but it costs me a lot”, admits the Aprilia rider.
“I am a person who warms up quickly, everyone knows it, but I have a hard time getting along badly with someone.”
One of the few clashes between drivers that has taken place this season arose, precisely, between Aleix and Marc Márquez, whom he accused of following the wheel in qualifying.
“After what happened with Marc, I’ve already publicly admitted that I was wrong, and although I think I was right at the time, I wouldn’t have had to say it, because in the past I’ve also followed many wheels. But I didn’t feel good, because I I have a good relationship with Marc and it made me feel bad that all that controversy was created,” recalled the pilot.
“So before he went to the United States to have surgery, I went to see him in his motorhome , we talked about it and we fixed it because I have a hard time getting along badly with someone,” he explains.
However, Aleix is aware that the level of confrontation will rise as the peak of the season arrives.
“I’m already telling you that at this end of the championship sparks are going to fly, I’m going to continue to be regular, but there will be a time, with two or three races to go, when I’m 20 or 30 points (from the leader), I’m going to Go with the knife between your teeth, because I’m playing a World Cup. But even if things happen on the track, then it’s hard for me to get along badly with people outside”.
Precisely Marc Márquez , in a TV interview, reflected in similar terms and assured that the relationship between MotoGP riders today is very good, but he warned that, until now, there had been no melee between the contenders to the championship, that when those face to face come, everything will change.
“I want and I want that to happen, because it will mean that we are in the fight for the championship. Now very good races are coming for the fans. In Misano , which is the only one that does not go super for me of all the rest, the Ducati with all the Italians are going to fly, Fabio is also going very, very fast on that track, sparks are going to fly, I have no doubts,” he warns.
“Then, in Aragón and Phillip Island I go very fast and they are circuits that are going to favor clashes, they are very wide tracks, in which you can make different lines, and sparks are going to fly for sure. I am convinced that we are going to do this championship to take all three to Valencia. I’m sure Fabio is hesitating and he’s going to be a little more conservative, but Pecco is going to go all out and I, after Misano, am going to go all out. It’s going to be a fun end of the season on the track”, assures the man from Granollers .
