After the significant leap forward that Aprilia took last year, the bar was set high for 2023, aiming to get even closer to the MotoGP title. However, unlike 2022, Aleix Espargaró never truly entered that contention and ended the championship in just sixth place.
While his teammate Maverick Viñales began with a podium, the more seasoned of the Spanish riders had a rocky start: in the first three rounds, he failed to achieve a top-five finish in main races, immediately falling behind in the fight for significant objectives in the Championship. Despite securing pole position at the Spanish GP, it would take even longer for his first podium, which came only at the Dutch TT before the summer break.
The beginning of the second part of the season held promise for Espargaró. At Silverstone, one of his favorite tracks, he clinched the first victory of the year. A result that opened up good prospects for the remainder of the season. At that time, #41 commented that after very high expectations, he made many mistakes and did not get the results that his speed would allow:
– It feels good. I’m very happy to be back on top. Maybe at the beginning of the season the expectation was too high on myself, on the team, so I made too many mistakes. […]. I lost a lot of points. I had a good speed […], I was very close to Pecco [Bagnaia], leading, but it doesn’t matter: you have to be fast on Sunday. So for one reason or another I wasn’t able really to match my speed with results.
Not surprisingly, given Aprilia’s characteristics, the Austrian GP ended with a modest ninth place for Espargaró, who responded with a remarkable dominance for victory at the Catalunya GP in a one-two for the constructor. Regarding this result, he said in the press conference: ‘I’m very happy also for Aprilia. I think it’s a very historical moment. I’m very, very proud of Aprilia, because we came from far, far away. And Aprilia has to be very proud of Maverick and myself because together we did an amazing and historical job’.
Two wins in three rounds after the summer hiatus. Was Espargaró on the way to an unlikely recovery to put himself in the title fight? Time gave a negative answer: from then on, the results declined, there were some issues – he retired on three occasions – and he only managed one more top-five finish. Consequently, he eventually lost the top five in the championship, being surpassed by Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati) in Malaysia.
Once again, Espargaró showed signs of a competitive Aprilia, but there was a lack of consistent performance at various points during the season. He also didn’t seem to adapt as well as possible to the Sprint races: apart from the victory in Barcelona, he finished among the top five only four times. There is a feeling that there is potential for more, and in 2024, the rider may try again to prove it in what could be his final season of his career.
Aleix Espargaró’s 2023 season:
Portuguese GP: 6th Sprint/9th GP – 7th in the championship
Argentine GP: DNF Sprint/15th GP – 13th in the championship
Americas GP: 4th Sprint/DNF GP – 13th in the championship
Spanish GP: DNF Sprint/5th GP – 13th in the championship
French GP: 8th Sprint/5th GP – 11th in the championship
Italian GP: 8th Sprint/6th GP – 9th in the championship
German GP: 9th Sprint/16th GP – 9th in the championship
Dutch TT: 4th Sprint/3rd GP – 8th in the championship
British GP: 5th Sprint/1st GP – 6th in the championship
Austrian GP: 7th Sprint/9th GP – 7th in the championship
Catalunya GP: 1st Sprint/1st GP – 5th in the championship
San Marino GP: 8th Sprint/12th GP – 5th in the championship
Indian GP: DNF in Sprint and GP – 5th in the championship
Japanese GP: DNF Sprint/5th GP – 5th in the championship
Indonesian GP: DNF Sprint/10th GP – 5th in the championship
Australian GP: 8th GP (no Sprint race) – 6th in the championship
Thai GP: 5th Sprint/8th GP – 5th in the championship
Malaysian GP: 12th Sprint/DNF GP – 6th in the championship
Qatar GP: DNF in Sprint and GP – 6th in the championship
Valencia GP: 13th Sprint/8th GP – 6th in the championship