Aleix Espargaró once again delivered a top-notch performance this weekend in France, obtaining a new podium, his fourth of the season and third in a row. A great consistency which has earned him second position in the championship, just four points behind leader Fabio Quartararo.
The Aprilia rider looked back on his performance during the post-race press conference, and we transcribe his entire remarks here.
Aleix, this is your fourth podium this season, and the third in a row. This was probably the hardest thing to find?
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It was extremely difficult, because I was fast but not fast enough to overtake Jack Miller, or even Joan Mir at the start of the race. But I knew today was going to be a case of survival because the track was really slippery. In fact it was more difficult to stay on the bike than to go fast: every time I was about to catch up with Jack, I started to feel movements at the front, and I saw on my board that the front tire was on fire. So I decided to let him distance himself, about eight tenths or even a second. In the last part of the race I saw on the giant screens that Fabio Quartararo was very close. Having analyzed his driving during the weekend I noticed that he was very fast in the middle of a turn, so I knew full well that if I made a deviation of even just one or two meters, he would immediately pull away. advantage. So it was very difficult to not make any mistakes in the last ten laps while continuing to ride in 1'32.0, but in the end I succeeded and that was paid. »
It was indeed undoubtedly difficult to contain Fabio when a podium was within his reach in front of his audience...
« Every time I got close to Jack, I had pressure and temperature problems in the front tire, and it was impossible to overtake. So I knew that Fabio was having exactly the same problem behind me. He is certainly better than me in the middle of the corner, but I am stronger than him when braking, so in the end I knew the ball was in my court. I knew if I didn't make any mistakes and kept braking late, then the podium was for me, so that's what I did. »
Aprilia will present itself at its national GP, at Mugello, leading the teams' championship. It's a bit of a dream, isn't it?
« I have no explanation to describe our current situation. I'm having a lot of fun riding this year, I have the bike of my dreams in my hands. I gave instructions to the engineers to try to make a bike that was perfect for me, and that's what they did. During the winter they made huge progress on the bike, and now I have the machine I've always dreamed of. Now we are only four points behind Fabio Quartararo after seven rounds, while he leads the championship. The team is truly incredible. »
Do you think that traction is the Aprilia's strong point?
« I think today we were strong in terms of traction because I was very conservative in terms of the brakes. I didn't want to make any mistakes in the run-up to the championship with Fabio. Braking hard when entering a corner allowed me to raise the bike more in the corner and therefore benefit from more grip. However, I think that the good side of the Aprilia does not lie in its traction or in the braking phases, but in its balance. It performs well in more or less all areas, and today was the first time I suffered in terms of acceleration. The traction wasn't that bad, but with my acceleration it was simply impossible for me today to get close to Pecco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Jack Miller. »
At one point, towards the end of the race, Fabio got really close to you in a corner. Had you made a mistake?
« No not really, but the fact is that at the same time I was trying to get back on Jack to try to overtake him, but every time I got closer I saw on my dashboard that my front tire was getting really hot. , and at one point I made the decision to give back a second because otherwise I was doomed to fall. So I gave myself a little air, and immediately after that the temperature started to decrease, and that's when Fabio came closer. But I knew very well that Fabio was in a similar situation, and that it was very dangerous for him to get too close to me. From then on I knew what I had to do to stay in front: brake very late to keep him behind me, but honestly it was a very difficult race for me. »
