Aleix Espargaró completed a noteworthy Italian Grand Prix with an RS-GP which showed once again that it had nothing in common with its predecessors. Well qualified and in the running during free practice, the driver and his mount still missed the objective of a top 5 never before achieved in the category by the Noale firm. So much for the competition. But, of course, there was also the sensitive and complicated context of the death of young Jason Dupasquier…
Aleix Espargaró does not have to be ashamed of his race on the Mugello which can give him great hopes for the next one coming this Sunday in Barcelona. On his performance, the official Aprilia commented, starting with disappointment: “ my start was bad because I lacked acceleration. I don't know why, but I lost a lot of places “, begins the Spaniard. “ In the race, I never had the same feeling as during testing, where I felt that I had a strong engine, that I was strong in acceleration. I don't know what happened in the race, but I lacked a lot of performance. I lost a lot in the acceleration phases, where I did really well this weekend ».
« I think I was very strong in the corners. I tried to stay in the group while fighting for the podium. I managed this to some extent, except for the last two laps », added the Spaniard from 31 years old, who was therefore not satisfied with the final result. “ But I think we missed a good chance on the podium. We were close, but I don't know either, I didn't feel like I was in the sessions ».
Less than two weeks after his compartment syndrome surgery, his right forearm caused fewer problems than he feared. “ I suffered a lot during the testing sessions, the fluid from the wound was removed twice, which carries a high risk of infection. I don't know why, but the race went better than expected. No fluid appears to have accumulated. I'm happy about that because we'll be back on the track in just five days said the older Espargaró, referring to his home race in Catalonia.
Aleix Espargaro: “we try to be in a parallel world, not to think”
However, the major event of this Italian Grand Prix on Sunday was the sad news of the death of Jason dupasquier, 19 years old. Despite everything, the drivers left to race. “ To be honest, I don't have an answer for that. How can we respect a minute's silence on the grid for a boy we lost this weekend and go into a race ten minutes later... I don't know. I was very sad. I know it’s life, it’s our sport. I don't know... We try to be in a parallel world in our head, not to think... But I find it very difficult to describe how we can "forget" something like that. It is of course very difficult and hard. Life ends very, very quickly ».
On the positions taken on the subject of having raced, which divides the paddock into two camps, he responds: “ whether I say yes or no, it doesn't change anything “, he said. “ I was very sad. Other drivers may be less influenced by things like that, but I don't mean that they are less human than me, that's not what I mean. But others are better at removing these things. For me – maybe because I'm a father or because my brother flies here – but every time something like this happens, it's very, very difficult for me. Like I said: I don't know where we got the strength to forget about it for 40 minutes and go into race mode the moment the lights go out. But of course, I've run 300 world championship races. If we hadn't raced, I wouldn't have found anything to complain about. But you also have to understand that a lot of people work here and that affects a lot of things. It's not that easy to cancel a race. I can understand both sides ».
MotoGP Italy J3: classification
Credit classification motogp.com
