Aleix Espargaró’s unconditional love for competitive motorcycling began in this same setting when he was 11 years old. He dreamed like any other kid on two wheels of achieving glory, and never gave up on his long pursuit of success. More than two decades later, just after announcing his retirement at the end of the season, when he will already be 35 years old, he shone like never before at home. It is the slogan printed on his limited edition chrome helmet, so that he can be seen from his native Granollers, a few kilometers from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while he closes a great weekend at the Catalunya GP with a record pole and spectacular victory at the sprint after a crazy race this Saturday.
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The falls at the head, first of Raúl Fernández, then of Brad Binder and finally of the champion Pecco Bagnaia, in the last lap, delivered on a plate a victory that was complicated for the Catalan after a bad start that placed him in fifth position and forced him to go back and grit his teeth, waiting for a gift that arrived miraculously. With the asphalt delicate, the grip at the limit all weekend, Espargaró knew how to keep a cool head and draw on his experience, the greatest in the championship with 20 years of racing behind him and more than 300 grand prix contested. He was accompanied on the podium by Marc Márquez, after another tremendous comeback, from 14th to second place, and the birthday boy Pedro Acosta, who went from better to worse after blowing out 20 candles on the cake.
Because age says one thing, but your hands say another.
Because his heart asks him to be with his family, but in his head he doesn’t see beyond the turn by turn.And in that… HE IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST! 🔥 @AleixEspargaro win the sprint race ✨#CatalanGP 🇪🇸 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/mgBXCUNyxZ
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) May 25, 2024
It was not the gift that the Murcian, a nonconformist after his third place, wanted, but it was the offering that the Circuit had in store for Aleix, impressive in the twilight of his career. “These last two days have been like a fairy tale, but the race has been very complicated,” celebrated Aprilia’s Il Capitano. “This cake will have a lot of cherries. Now that all the pressure has been taken off him, he has nothing to lose,” his father, Genís, pointed out at the DAZN microphone. Espargaró, who announced his goodbye on Thursday, led the training sessions on Friday and then set the track record in qualifying. “The best lap of my life,” he said. And he has given a few. The Noale factory pilot acknowledged that having defined his future with his family has taken a weight off his shoulders. “I’m retired, I don’t have any pressure anymore,” he joked.
Montmeló provided a spectacular ‘sprint’, with several unexpected twists in the script. Fernández’s spectacular pace, which perhaps grew too high as he found himself closer than ever to his first victory in the premier class, after three years fighting at the back of the grid, took him from glory to gravel in a couple of turns. In the third he hit two axes to devour Bagnaia and Acosta, but in the fifth he lost the front end in the tenth corner, lamenting bitterly in the gravel.
That fall at the front encouraged Binder, from KTM, to tear off the rookie’s stickers. His joy lasted even less, as he ended up on the ground in the sixth lap. Command then fell to the Ducati number one, who set just the right pace to escape ahead and seemed destined for victory until he gave up victory, like the South African, in the fifth corner of the track.
Bagnaia’s slip places Márquez in second place in the World Cup, followed by Bastianini, who finished fifth. The three candidates for the most coveted seat on the grid now dominate the classification. Jorge Martín, leader despite a fourth place that was too little for him, maintains his advantage at the top of the table after a Saturday that rewarded those who found the right point without exceeding the limit. The seniority of Espargaró and Márquez was noticeable, and Acosta once again showed that despite his youth he acts like an old dog in the World Cup.
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2024-05-25 13:46:18
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