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Perhaps not even concluding his racing career with a victory would have given Aleix Espargaró the same emotions and joy he felt with his fifth place finish today at his home track in Barcelona. A race in which the Aprilia rider gave his all to bring his MotoGP journey to an end in the best possible way and help his great friend Jorge Martin put the most important title of his career in his trophy cabinet, before picking up his baton in the Noale manufacturer team.
"I feel I'm a really lucky person and I'm grateful for what I experienced today," admitted the Catalan as he summed up his last race: "It was impossible to dream of a better weekend than this, on my home track, in front of my family and with so many surprises from Aprilia, to say goodbye after 20 seasons. I was very competitive, I almost got the pole position, I was fighting with the Ducatis, Jorge won the title with a little help from me, so this weekend is 10 out of 10."
A GP to remember for Aleix, less so for Enea Bastianini, who is convinced that the Aprilia captain maintained a less than honorable race conduct, acting as Martin's squire.
"I've been told that Enea thinks it's not nice to end a career without fighting for the podium, and the only thing I can answer is that I don't think it's correct to say things like that - he commented - I expected him to come on the last lap to duel, instead he was three seconds behind me with an official Ducati. So, I don't know what he was referring to. Alex Marquez had an incredible race and beat me, while Enea couldn't. I did my best, I rode over the limit and I was the only one who put another bike between the Ducatis."
The 35-year-old, for that matter, is convinced that the podium was not within his reach today.
"It was impossible. At the beginning of the race I thought I had the pace to be able to fight for the win and it was a bit shocking because I knew the riders in front had the soft tire, while I was riding on the limit like never before in my life. I tried to be a little more conservative thinking that I could maybe have an advantage at the end, instead I don't know how but the Ducatis' soft tire lasted longer than mine: although I was careful throughout the race, the last 10 laps were a nightmare because I didn't have any more traction despite having a harder compound than theirs," he recounted, " I'm still very happy to have helped Jorge protect his position."
The most natural thing for the eldest of the Espargaró brothers to do.
"We had talked about it a bit before the race: we knew that all the Ducatis would be against him, as it was normal to keep the title at home. I felt that I was the only one who could protect my little brother and make him win the title, " he said. "Even though I was very emotional on the grid because it was my last race, when the race started I was just focused on trying to protect him as much as possible. I am happy and proud to have helped him."
A race that Aleix will hardly forget, as well as this entire weekend.
"I cried on the grid, and I am very proud that I was able to recover when the lights went out and focus on the race. When I passed under the checkered flag I started crying, I couldn't see anything, I stopped next to Jorge who started repeating to me, 'We did it! It's yours too!' I am very grateful, because he grew up with me and it made me very happy to see him become World Champion by making me a part of it, even though I am only 0.1 percent. It was incredible to greet the Catalan fans with my best friend who became World Champion, in my last race with Aprilia. That's why today I feel like the luckiest person in the World. I could not have asked for more," the Aprilia rider reiterated.
Just as Dani Pedrosa had recounted after his last race, Espargaró also felt a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders after crossing the finish line.
"I had a huge drop off after the checkered flag, I felt relieved. Of course I will miss my Aprilia RS-GP so much, but I didn't want to race anymore. I think in life it's very important to be able to understand the timing, and as I said, I'm very lucky to be able to take my leave like this," he noted.
What would he say today to the young Aleix that he included in his helmet graphic?
"I'm very proud of my journey, although maybe I didn't have enough passion during so many phases of my career. So I would tell that little boy not to give up, to work hard and be a good person. I would not change so many things, I would try to keep my personality and say what I feel, because I am proud of my journey. Resilience would be a good title for my career ," he replied, " I think hard work beats talent, and I have proven that. I always felt throughout my career that I was less talented than some of my teammates, but by working hard, being smart, and taking advantage of all the resources at your disposal, you can do what you want. I want to be remembered as a rider who never gave up."
