Aleix Espargaró left euphoric, rightly so, from his Argentine victory dating from a week before a deadline in Austin which was one of all dangers. Last year, in fact, in Texas, the Spanish driver and the Aprilia had never found rhythm and settings and had collected crashes. In view of the eleventh place this time acquired, the progress from one edition of the Grand Prix of the Americas to the next is obvious. However, the nervousness of the 32-year-old driver, both on the track with Alex Marquez, and behind the scenes with this admission of disappointment in the start of negotiations with his employer for 2023, masked this progress which could have been better rewarded with a a little more serenity...
Aleix Espargaró had been admirable at Termas de Rio Hondo, but he showed another face at Austin. In taking stock of this fourth round of a championship in which he has already lost the command acquired on Argentinian soil, he also makes his mea culpa… “ I'm not happy at all because this year we set the bar very high, and that's good and bad at the same time. Having a race like that after winning, it’s clear that we can’t be happy. Although here in 2021 we finished in 20th place and today in 11th place ».
A position which was decided in the last moments of the race since it was his own teammate Maverick Vinales which knocked him out of the top 10 with a view to the finish… “ The whole weekend was very difficult for me ", admitted the Spaniard 32 years. “ Honestly, I've tried everything. I was very focused and did my best. I don't like this track and I don't think it's the best track for Aprilia either. I tried everything and I'm extremely tired because it was very difficult ". It must also be said that he did not make his life easier by provoking controversy with Alex Marquez... " I just want to forget everything, from the first lap of FP1 to the last lap of the race. I want to erase everything, including the changes we tried on the bike ».
He adds : " we then continue on normal circuits. This circuit is not normal, there are ups and downs, bumps and everything, it doesn't suit me and it doesn't suit our bike either. Maverick was much faster than me, we finished the race more or less at the same level, but his pace was better. But he was second here on the Yamaha, so obviously this track is not suitable for our bike. But we are lucky that it is the only route of this type on the calendar ».
Aleix Espargaró: “ I made a big mistake on Saturday«
« I think if I manage to finish 11th, ten seconds behind, on a very difficult track, it means we have a chance to fight for the top five in the World Championship. I can't wait to arrive in Portimão and Jerez "Said Aleix Espargaró, in anticipation of the next Grand Prix. But he comes back to Austin by recognizing an error: “ I made a big mistake on Saturday. If you go up to Q2 via Q1 you get an additional soft rear tire. So I told my guys an hour before qualifying to warm up the racing tires because I was sure of progress in Q1. But I failed, I fell. But the tire had already been warmed up. I always feel like I don't like riding with a tire that's already preheated. But it was my mistake and my decision. We did it for the first time and we won't do it again because maybe that was the problem. It was clearly my fault ».
On the other hand, in the race, he did not behave with Marc Marquez, like he did with his brother Alex during qualifying… “ Marc was very competitive, when I saw him coming back on me, I preferred to be smart and not fight him because he had an advantage. I tried to follow him to gain ground on the rivals, I must say that he is very good at stopping the bike and restarting it at low speed. Without this problem at the start, I am convinced that the victory would have been decided for him ».
Aleix Espargaró finishes, noting that he has gone from leader to third in the championship, 11 lengths behindEnea Bastianini, second winner of the season after four events: “ the championship is long, What happened in Austin does not change our goals. In Europe we will find better circuits for our motorcycle ».
Results of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
