The Spaniard earned his vacations in Assen with his family and friends.
In one of the best races of his life, if not the best, Espargaró starred in an anthological comeback that took him from the last position he occupied shortly after Fabio Quartararo took him away in the early stages of the race, to fourth place in which he crossed the finish line, immediately after pulling out of the hat a brutal double overtaking of Jack Miller and Binder, in the last variant of the Dutch track.
Between that climb and Fabio Quartararo’s trigger, the eldest of the brothers from Granollers (Barcelona) took a tremendous bite out of the difference in points enjoyed by the Devil.
That margin was reduced to 21 points in the absence of nine stops on the calendar (225 points), a circumstance that leaves the panorama completely open for a brawl on several fronts: the third classified is Johann Zarco, who is 58 points behind the leader, while that Pecco Bagnaia is fourth, 66 points behind Quartararo and one above Enea Bastianini.
With this stage set, Espargaró arrives at Silverstone, precisely the place where, a year ago, he won his first podium with Aprilia – he finished third.
Since then, the project of the Noale brand has not stopped growing at an amazing speed, to the point of having fully immersed itself in the fight for the crown, after having celebrated the company’s first victory in MotoGP, which Espargaró himself reached in Argentina.
“There is less left than people may think. I have the feeling that these three months are going to go by very quickly and that we will be on the Asian tour in no time,” said the Catalan, who will have an advantage in his favor this Sunday, given that Quartararo will have to serve the penalty –long lap– that the stewards imposed on him in Assen.
“I hope the sanction affects Fabio a lot mentally, but I think it will be sterile, it won’t do anything to him. He knocked me to the ground and in the race I recovered ten seconds. Here he will lose one, at most, because the rodeo is very short. With how fast he’s going here he shouldn’t be worried”, declared Espargaró, who looks stronger than ever, fully prepared for the challenge that awaits him.
“You have to find a compromise between going on the attack and using your head. But I’m much more at the top than in the first part of the season. We have a huge opportunity and we have to take advantage of it”, argued the Aprilia rider, convinced that he can make a considerable leap in quality compared to his performance in 2021, because the bike transmits it that way.
“I have the feeling that last year Fabio took a walk. But, from last year’s bike to the new one, we improved by an average of five seconds on each circuit”, Espargaró clinched.
