The eldest of the Espargaró brothers will conclude his fifth season in Aprilia this weekend as the true soul and leader of the Noale house project, also achieving his best results this year, with the podium (3rd) achieved at Silverstone and the fourth place, in the following race in Aragón.
Since then, in the four following races, the Aprilia has suffered a slight braking while Aleix has not been able to finish either in Austin or last week in Portimao.
In a weekend in which MotoGP says goodbye to one of the most important men in its history, Valentino Rossi, Aleix – who is 32 years old – spoke about his future.
“I think I’m motivated mentally and physically ready for two or three more years. I have to decide if I just want to continue one more [2023] or two, until 2024. I haven’t talked to Aprilia about it yet, but we will have time during the winter to see if they want to keep counting on me or if they prefer a young rider”, explained Aleix.
One of the conditions, in quotes, that Aleix puts, is to continue progressing and improving the bike.
“We will see how the winter goes, how the first races of 2022 go, and then we will see how things evolve to see if I want to continue racing,” adds the rider, whose contract ends at the end of 2022.
Another who leaves the MotoGP paddock at the end of the year is Danilo Petrucci, for whom Aleix had words of encouragement.
“I congratulated Danilo, because trying to face the Dakar is a challenge that shows how brave he is. Enduro is his passion,” he said.
Little by little, the arrival of Maverick Viñales should raise the level of competitiveness of the Aprilia and within the garage between the two riders.
“My goal is to beat Maverick in every session until I retire. But at the same time, I will work with him to develop the Aprilia. The bike is not that far from the best. We just need to work on a few specific areas to be up to date. level of the most competitive”.
Finally and focused again on Rossi’s departure, Aleix admitted that his departure is something that is going to be felt.
“It is impossible that Valentino’s departure does not leave any void. Now Pedro Acosta will come and win 14 world titles, but nobody will be able to do the same thing that Vale has done. Even when he is not there, I think the stands will continue to be totally yellow,” he settled. the boy from Granollers.
