Aside from the winner, it is rare for a Grand Prix driver to be completely satisfied with his performance at the end of the race.
Seeing the glass half empty or half full is therefore often the option available to mid-grid drivers when they return to their box, but the frustration is all the greater if the final result has only been determined by mechanics.
This was unfortunately the case on Sunday at the Chang circuit in Buriram, much to the chagrin of Aleix Espargaró.
The Catalan driver had approached his weekend in Thailand being cautious and expecting to suffer after his good performance in Aragon, due to the nature of the track and the high temperatures.
During the first day, the Aprilia official was in a very good seventh position in the general classification, which gave him a direct passage to Q2 after an FP3 which took place on a wet track.
Qualified in 12th position on a traditionally difficult track for Aprilias, Aleix Espargaró started perfectly and gained two places during the first lap to find himself in the wake of the Ducati of Danilo Petrucci. Unable to overtake the latter for 15 laps, which would have opened the door to Joan Mir and Valentino Rossi, the native of Granollers experienced the first technical problems on the next pass, thus causing Takaaki Nakagami to overtake him, before to continue to drop down and have to retire on the 18th lap while he was in last position.
The frustration was all the more significant for Aleix Espargaró as, ultimately, his RS–GP had acclimatized very well to the Thai track. In the end, number 41 appears both disappointed and impatient to be able to prove his speed in a future event.
Aleix Espargaró : “This weekend, we worked to perfection. On what is perhaps the most difficult track for us, we found good settings which allowed me to fight with Petrucci without losing sight of the group in front of us. I got a good start and tried to pass Petrucci twice during the race. Especially in the first laps I had a better pace than him and I hoped I could hang on to Rossi's group and the Suzuki riders. I felt really good, although I had a lot of problems here a year ago. I think the race was very good, one of my best races with Aprilia. But we did a good job and got the most out of the bike. I felt good and strong. I wasn't far behind the second group and I fought with Petrucci in the top-10. »
“Unfortunately, with nine laps remaining, an electronic problem forced me to stop while we had the opportunity to achieve a good result. It's really bitter. Of course, I'm very disappointed and frustrated now. We have already left so many points behind us that we deserve much more. I have never ridden so well in my career and I have never been so close to the limit of the bike. It's all the more disappointing for me because I can't prove it on the track. I hope we can finish the season in a better way. Unfortunately, luck is not on our side this year, but we have shown that we can take advantage of RS-GP to the limit in the last few races and that we will be able to finish the season in a better way. »
MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix standings:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
