In Texas, some GP aces tried their hand at baseball on Wednesday. Remy Gardner proved to be a master, Aleix Espargaró and Jorge Martin feel more comfortable on their bikes.
At the traditional Dorna PreEvent on Wednesday in Texas, MotoGP riders Jorge Martin, Aleix Espargaró and Remy Gaedner slipped into the roles of baseball players, accompanied by US Moto2 riders Cameron Beaubier, Sean Dylan Kelly (both race in the American Racing Team) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans).
Practice for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas begins on Friday, but two days beforehand some GP aces were struggling with baseball bats at Round Rock.
After some training on the field and some tips from the players of the Round Rock Express club, the first pitch was tackled. They also met the mascot Spike and competed against the Zream of El Pasao Chihuahua.
“I feel good. I’m still dreaming, »said Argentina winner Aleix Espargaró. “The last week has been incredible. Not just because of the win, but because we dominated the whole weekend, because we were in the lead and started from pole position.”
“I’m very happy now,” admitted the world championship leader and Aprilia works driver. “I’m enjoying the moment that will go down in history, but I have to keep my feet on the ground. I can’t wait to return to COTA. I really want to take the momentum with me.”
Aprilia went pointless in Texas on October 3, 2021. Back then, Viñales missed the SSP 300 World Championship round in Jerez after the death of his 15-year-old cousin, Dean Berta Viñales.
Aleix noticed that he had little talent for baseball: “It was a completely new sport for me. I’ve never been to a baseball stadium before, it’s really beautiful and impressive. I don’t understand this sport, it’s completely foreign to me. But you can feel that there is a super good American atmosphere here in this arena. It was nice to experience a new sport. But I’d rather stick to motorcycling. It’s quite difficult to catch this little ball…»
Jorge Martin, second place at the Las Termas GP: «It was the first time in my life that I played baseball. I’m enjoying my time here in America. And after the strong result on Sunday, I’m already looking forward to the first training session. Second place was great for the Pramac team. I’ve got a lot of confidence now for the Texas GP. I’ve won here in Moto3 before and I was almost on the podium in 2021 when I was fifth. I want to be in the top 3 again on Sunday.”
Remy Gardner (15th in Qatar) from the KTM Tech3 Factory Team was an Australian with some baseball experience. “I played in Australia as a kid. It was part of physical education at school. I was enthusiastic about it and played baseball actively for ten or eleven years. I even have a bat at home.”
MotoGP rookie Gardner on the Texas GP: “Last year I was pretty quick in Moto2 in Texas. But I crashed in the race, so it was the worst race of the season. I hope that I can find the necessary speed in MotoGP this year too.”
Championship status after 3 of 21 Grand Prix:
1. Aleix Espargaró 45 Punkte. 2. Brad Binder 38. 3. Bastianini 36. 4. Rins 36. 5. Quartararo 35. 6. Mir 33. 7. Oliveira 28. 8. Zarco 24. 9. Martin 20. 10. Pol Espargaro 20. 11. Miller 15. 12. Morbidelli 14. 13. Viñales 13. 14. Bagnaia 12. 15. Marc Márquez 11. 16. Nakagami 10. 17. Marini 10. 18. Bezzecchi 7. 19. Darryn Binder 6. 20. Alex Márquez 4. 21. Dovizioso 2. 22. Gardner 1.
Constructors’ Championship:
1. Ducati 61 Punkte. 2. KTM 55. 3. Aprilia 45. 4. Suzuki 37. 5. Yamaha 35. 6. Honda 24.
Team-WM:
1. Suzuki Ecstar 69 Punkte. 2. Red Bull KTM Factory 66. 3. Aprilia Racing 58. 4. Monster Energy Yamaha 49. 5. Pramac Racing 44. Gresini Racing MotoGP 36. 7. Repsol Honda 31. 8. Ducati Lenovo 27. 9. Mooney VR46 Racing 17. 10. LCR Honda 14. 11. WithU Yamaha RNF 8. 12. Tech3 KTM Factory 1.
