Aleix Espargaró believed in it wholeheartedly and he had every reason to do so given the beauty of the maneuver. And yet, the fact of swallowing two drivers - and not the least since it was Brad Binder and Jack Miller who were caught by the Aprilia hit by the 41 - in the Assen chicane, during an electric Grand Prix of Netherlands, which was experiencing its last turn, deserved a distinction. But the scene was not considered the best passing of the season when the reckoning came. If there was no prize, at least the memory remains. What does the author of the facts tell us…
During the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix in Assen, Aleix Espargaro moved up from 15th to fourth position, after being hooked and put in the gravel trap by fabio quartararo. Quite a comeback in a MotoGP where, it seems, it would have become impossible to overtake. The final assault into the chicane was masterful in this respect, but it was not considered spectacular enough to be awarded the new “ Agostini Fan Award » set up to reward the best performance. The irony would have it that this prize went to his Batavian executioner, either fabio quartararo, recognized for having passed in front Jack Miller at the Austrian Grand Prix with some authority.
However, the feat ofAleix Espargaró deserves to go down in history. The official Aprilia tell : " two laps before the end, I switched to Mapping 3, which was not easy at all. I said to myself: 'You have to take more speed with you in the fast corner than them – and it paid off. I overtook at the last braking point, but in truth the left turn was decisive: I was 20 km/h faster than them, the speed was incredible », says the Spaniard on speedweek.
Aleix Espargaró: “ the good thing is that I was able to stop the bike«
He adds : " I saw that Brad wasn't very good on the brakes there and I was like, 'Okay, now I'll give it a try.' And the good thing was that I was able to stop the bike. I overtook at least 20 drivers there », insists Aleix Espargaro with enthusiasm. “ I don't think I've overtaken anywhere else. Every race passing maneuver I did there – every lap I had a guy there ».
Incidentally, the star ofAprilia also explained the high speed in fast corners thanks to the new fairing. This new variant was seen on the RS-GP for the first time during the Catalunya test, and it arrived at Assen to be used for the first time in racing: “ this was felt very clearly in Assen. From Friday onwards, I had the feeling that if I released the front brake in the very fast sections, I was much faster than the others. I lost in a few places, but my bike was much better in fast passages », concludes the man who ultimately missed the podium in the general classification, but who still won his first MotoGP Grand Prix this year, in Argentina, at the age of 32 years and 247 days. It was also the first victory Aprilia in its RS-GP project.
