MontmelóThe eyes of Aleix Espargaró (Granollers, 1989) are full of excitement. They are like those of a small child who sees his dream come true, who is enjoying the end of a tedious era that is taking him to one podium after another. And that he has managed to have a beautiful family that supports him and accompanies him wherever he goes. Aleix’s life is now rosy, but to get here there have been many ups and downs and difficult times, both on and off the tarmac. The pilot attends ARA to talk about it.
The home Grand Prix is coming. Does the rider notice the difference in being on his circuit?
– It’s noticeable, it’s inevitable. In the end, I see this as practically the street of my house, it’s like entering the garage of my house. I’ve been there countless times, here, and it shows. Being a veteran has many negative things, but also many positive ones, and one is that after so many years I have learned to normalize the Grand Prix as it should be: something that when you are young is very difficult to do.
Are there more nerves?
– The home Grand Prix is always special, but this year even more so! We get there fighting for the title of world champion, being the best Catalan driver in the classification, without Marc [Márquez]… I certainly have more pressure and more responsibility, but it’s a source of pride. I’ve been suffering for a long time in my sporting career, where everything always cost a lot, and now I’m enjoying an awesome moment. In the past I had thought that if I got into a situation like this I would have a lot of nerves, but this is not the case.
I’ve improved a lot as a driver and Aprilia has come a long way, but what’s happening is a dream. It doesn’t make any sense. ”
Your goal last year was to get on the podium, and now you have four in a row. It has been a drastic and radical change in your reality.
– I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I’ve been thinking a lot: what’s the explanation? I don’t have an exact one. I’ve improved a lot as a driver and Aprilia has come a long way, but what’s happening is a dream. It doesn’t make any sense. I think only the fantastic four – Dani, Marc, Jorge and Stoner – were able to chain four podiums in a row. I carry them, I won a Grand Prix and I did it with a bike that I had never done before. It’s all a bit surreal, but I’m very proud of it. In the end I got it, working with this bike for a long time, and recycling myself to continue riding at a very high level.
Did you see the possibility of making that leap at this point in your career?
– I am a very positive person. Already last year, in the preseason, when I tested the 2021 bike, on the second lap I said, “This bike works, it’s competitive.” 2021 was the first year of my sporting career in which I regularly saw myself in every session and every race fighting for the best. I already did a podium. There I realized that the bike works and that I was able to be at the level of the best. If we go one step further with Aprilia and they can get what I ask for and need, we will be able to fight on all the podium races. The brand rode an even better bike this season, which I liked from the start.
What is history like for a brand as important as Aprilia?
– It was brutal. The victory in Argentina was unique. I don’t remember much about the last half lap [riu]. I was very nervous, very tense, until I crossed the finish line. There I had two sensations, like black and white. It was a feeling of taking a huge weight off me. He wasn’t even happy, he was floating. I was very happy. It didn’t really change my life, but the way I am, I was very excited about the people of Aprilia, Noale, my family … They have always been with me: when I had falls, when the fifteenth was over … I was very excited that they could enjoy it.
Does your best moment in sports come when you are happiest on a personal level?
– Last year the little ones could only come to two races, and at the beginning of the year only one to Silverstone, where I got the podium. This year many have come, and Max has also come with me alone and I have got a podium. It’s funny, because when I leave home they say, “Dad, remember to bring the cup!” And I thought, “Yeah, well, I’ll try!” [Riu.] They are only aware of their father fighting the best at the helm, but their father had never been there before. It’s something that makes me brutally proud. If I make such an effort as I am to extend my sporting career, with the theme of travel, to take care of myself, to leave them for many days, it is because it is a pride to see how they enjoy, too.
This Grand Prix wears a very special helmet in honor of Mia.
– Four years ago, when Mia was born, she had a heart problem. It was right at the Montmeló Grand Prix, when she was born and they had to operate on her. Then he needed a second intervention. Athletes are a giant speaker and it seemed like the best way to have a gesture. As the season progresses, it was an idyllic time to pay tribute to my daughter, even though she is not yet very aware of it, and especially to CorAll Family, the association that reassured us and he took great care of us at the time. Mia for us is an impressive source of inspiration.
How do you get out to run when your daughter is in the operating room?
– I was lucky that everything went well. When there is such a case and you go through it badly, these feelings are transformed into just the opposite: positive energy, motivation. The worst day of my life was when I left my daughter in the operating room. When everything went well and when you see how it recovers it’s brutal. It’s my gas. It’s hard to describe, but there’s no doubt I’m very lucky. Not all parents have been so lucky.
Being parent conditions at the time of piloting?
– Yes, but in a positive way. It has given me a lot of energy. Being a parent is so much more complicated than people think, and spending 200 days away from home, like me, is even more complicated. And it’s not possible if you don’t have a woman like Laura by your side. A person who helps you, who adds up, who is your stability. I travel to the races with positive energy and enthusiasm like I didn’t before having kids.
You are the first Catalan on the grill. It’s the first time you’ve seen yourself in this situation and it’s not because of Marc’s absence, but because of his own merits and thanks to a bike that works.
– It is very difficult to get to the circuits fighting for the title and being the first Catalan in the classification. I hope the stands are full at the Circuit. It’s a source of pride and it puts a lot of pressure on me, obviously. Right now I was hearing a radio show raffling off tickets and asking listeners who they thought would win the Grand Prix, and 90% said I would win! It’s all very strange, but it makes me very excited. I’m working hard to try to win. It will be difficult, I am not Marc, who has won here a thousand times, but you have to trust him. It’s not that I’m putting pressure on myself, but the goal is clear: I want to win here.
I used to always say: we are the best, we have a better time than anyone! And we did the 14th, imagine now that we do podiums ”
Marc is living a very complicated situation. He has now stopped to re-operate: how do you see him as a pilot?
– I can’t tell you how I would handle this happening to Marc. I think he was lucky, on the one hand, and he won everything that any rider has ever dreamed of. This turns into a negative when, suddenly and due to physical problems, you stop being able to win and be yourself. What is happening must be very hard, especially psychologically. In the end, he is not even 30 years old. The bikes are great, but they have a lifetime ahead of them. Physically I couldn’t go on like this, and I think he did well stopping and trying to fix the problems.
How important is the environment to you and to everything you are getting at Aprilia?
Very much. Hi ha altres pilots catalans i espanyols que no necessiten tenir relació personal amb el seu equip. They want professional and competent people to come and do the work. Then go home and that’s it. I can’t do that: I need to have my family around me. The people who work with me are my second family. And at this stage we have not changed much: we continue to have just as much fun. I used to always say: we are the best, we have a better time than anyone! And we were in fourteenth place, imagine now that we make podiums.
