Aleix Espargaró finished just short of the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, but he was without a doubt the driver who made the most impression at Assen. However, before crossing the checkered flag, the Aprilia rider was involved in an accident with Fabio Quartararo on lap five.
Aleix Espargaró managed to get back on asphalt, a track where I managed to cut Fabio Quartararo 13 points in the championship after a great comeback a few seconds from the end.
“I was very strong in this corner and Fabio [Quartararo] knew it. If Fabio did that maneuver it is because he has a very good feeling on his bike. He manages to close the trajectories because he feels safe, and we saw him in the first corner in Germany, next to Pecco [Bagnaia]”.
“Fabio is not a dirty driver, but his confidence is so high that he can really close the lines. But today I was also very fast, so I closed the lane like him and we crashed. He apologized to me and said: ‘I made a big mistake of judgment in proving that.'”
“It is something that does not give points but for me it is important, and if I want to play for this title I needed it. I had lost it for four or five races, to be the fastest in the race. This weekend, apart from qualifying With five laps interrupted by yellow flags, I think I was the fastest. I showed them my speed and for me it is very important.”
“Today I didn’t win because Fabio hit me, but I think the victory was obvious. But for me, it was important to have these feelings.”
The Catalan driver managed to recover from the incident with the reigning world champion, surprising everyone with his impressive pace until the checkered flag and thus explained it to the media: “I have no idea. Today I had nothing to lose and I don’t want to appear arrogant, but today I had a little better rhythm than the rest”.
“When you have a half a second or four tenths lead, it’s a lot easier because you’re doing very different things to the others. I braked much later than the others at the last chicane. I was amazing in the fast section, no one could keep up that much speed That’s why it was quite easy for me [to come back],” he said.
With this performance and the crashes of Fabio Quartararo , the Aprilia rider moves up to second, less than a grand prix away from the lead: “When Fabio hit me, I saw on my board that I was in 14th place. moment I told myself ‘your career is over, nothing is going to change if you make two or three points, it doesn’t count, you have to aim for more than ten”.
“If you fall, you fall, it won’t be your fault if you fall, but Fabio’s. So I told myself ‘this is the day to show that you are fast and that you have a good bike’ and I showed it. I smiled when I saw 1:32.5, it’s unbelievable,” he continued.
Espargaró enjoys a good relationship with the Frenchman, in addition to having lived in the premier class for a long time, so he knows what it’s like to go through all kinds of situations : “I’m an old man in this paddock. I like to analyze how the stuff”.
“I know the category, I know the bike, I know my rivals. I know Fabio’s level of confidence and I also took a lot of time to analyze videos of him in the race, during practice sessions, everything! I know his riding, he has a lot of confidence [in himself] and when you are so fast, it is not easy to stay at that level without making mistakes”, revealed the Catalan.
“It’s not that he was arrogant, but since he feels much faster than the others, he miscalculated this overtaking. I knew it could happen, so from then on I said to myself ‘Fabio is almost perfect, he hasn’t made any mistakes in the whole race. season, so if he makes a mistake, you have to take advantage of it.
Although we will never know how a battle between the two overall leaders would have ended, the Aprilia rider thought that Quartararo would have been a tough opponent to beat: “It’s hard to know, because I think today I could have won and [if] Fabio I would have finished second, it’s five points [difference]. I got 13. If you think about the championship, it’s better, but I lost a win.”
“I’m pretty sure I could win today and I only have one win in my career, so I was ready to take [just] five points [away] and win,” he said.
