He dreamed of it, Aleix, of this first victory for the GSX-RR. He attended, but perhaps not in the way he had envisioned. While his best results this year were two fifth places in Austin and Jerez, the fiery Hidalgo saw his teammate Maverick, who triumphed like an emperor and now totals more than double the points than him, 125 to 60.
Qualifying did not go in an ideal manner for Aleix, not because of his eleventh place, but above all because of the 6 seconds that separated him from pole position. Cal Crutchlow. The start of Aleix's race was real hell, with his younger brother Pol evacuated on a stretcher following his collision with Loris Baz. The images of the fall were impressive, but the elder Espargaro had no choice: he had to take the second start and be sure.
Tenth at the start of the race while Vinales was prancing in the lead, Aleix moved up impeccably to seventh place at the finish line. It was his fourth best result of the year, and what's more, he beat his compatriot, reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, which he passed without respite on the tenth lap and was ahead by almost three seconds under the checkered flag.
“I was able to finish the race by not finishing very far from the leaders, he then commented. We still need to work hard to make further improvements, be patient and work step by step. At the same time, I am very happy for my teammate Maverick and to see the Suzuki on the top step of the podium. The evolution we have made over the last 20 months after returning to MotoGP is incredible, and this entire Suzuki family deserves this result. We will continue to fight to also achieve better results before the end of the season. »
Aleix Espargaro will pilot a Aprilia, with Sam Lowes.
