It’s the end of an era. Aleix Espargaró will retire from MotoGP after the 2024 season, concluding a career that began in the 125cc class in 2005. Next July he will turn 35.
Throughout nearly 20 years, Espargaró never contended for titles in any of the categories he raced in (125cc, 250cc, Moto2, and MotoGP), but he always remained a prominent figure and steadily climbed the ranks to reach the elite level.
His MotoGP debut came with Pramac in the final rounds of 2009, leading to his first full season in 2010. The experience was not entirely successful, prompting a return to Moto2 in 2011. However, this was a brief stint in the intermediate category before he returned to MotoGP for good in 2012.
Espargaró started with one of the former CRT teams, Aspar, before joining Forward in 2014, where he secured a podium and a solid seventh place overall despite competing in an Open team. From 2015 onwards, he was always part of factory teams: he was one of the riders for Suzuki’s project launch and then moved to Aprilia in 2017, where he has stayed until now.
With the Noale manufacturer, Espargaró had a remarkable journey. Upon his arrival, Aprilia was one of the least competitive bikes on the grid. He played a key role in the significant progress that has since placed Aprilia among the frontrunners. In 2022, he secured his first race win and achieved his best championship finish to date, coming fourth.