Aleix Espargaró led the race briefly at the Japanese GP, and despite the red flag shown after 12 laps completed only allowed #41 to finish in 5th place, in the debrief, the Spanish rider was pleased with his pace and that of his RS-GP:
– Pleased with the result. I had some visibility issues because of the water, but I felt good on the bike in the rain. Unfortunately, it rained too much so they had to show the red flag, which was good in my opinion. But today I felt we could fight for the podium in the rain and it was the first time in my career.
When asked about the choice of the soft front tire, and whether it was too bold of a move, Espargaró said he thought about retiring:
– Yes, usually when it rains here in Japan, it rains very heavily, so we decided to take a chance. In the first laps I was at risk because I didn’t have traction, I overheated the tire and I knew that after one or two laps like that I had to withdraw, because in dry conditions with soft tires it’s impossible, but then it started to rain, I started to feel more comfortable and gain more advantage over the guys.
The Aprilia Racing pilot also expressed satisfaction with the decision of the championship officials to show the red flag, admitting that he would have made the decision earlier, something that is more difficult to understand for those on the outside:
– Yes, for me it was perfect. Obviously from my point of view it’s easier than for them. For me the red flag should have come one lap earlier, but it’s very difficult for them to understand.
