“The head tells me I can keep going; the heart asks me to stay home longer” – Aleix Espargaró

Aleix Espargaró will end his MotoGP career at the end of the season, as announced this afternoon at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Aprilia man had his reasons, which are not necessarily related to the sporting aspect.

In a press conference, the Spaniard began by saying: ‘It was a pleasant journey, I enjoyed it a lot. So, thank you all‘.

Regarding the origin of the decision to end his career, Espargaró explained: ‘You know that I have always made many mistakes in my life by deciding everything with my heart and not with my head, but that’s how I am. My head tells me that I can continue, that I am still fast, with colleagues who are the best in history, and I feel competitive and physically well. But my heart asks me to stay at home longer, to educate my children and be with my wife. And so I decided to take this step aside, enjoy life from a more peaceful perspective‘.

At the time of the announcement, the pilot did not forget the importance of Aprilia… and Dorna, in addition to the family: ‘I would like to thank Aprilia above all because these last three years for me have been a dream: since I arrived here with Romano [Albesiano], then with Massimo [Rivola], with Paolo [Bonoro], I think we made history. I will be eternally grateful for what they have given me and for what I think I have given them. Thanks to Carmelo, to Carlos [Ezpeleta], because I grew up here, this was my life, my school, my playground, everything. My children too. Thanks to my family, which starts with them, to my brother [Pol Espargaró], who has always been [tears and lots of applause] my reference. And to all my personal team: Albert Valera, without whom my sports career would not have been like this; now he is a pillar of my life. To my wife, Laura, she is the best I have. And to all the riders and colleagues in the paddock, thank you. I tried to do the best I could and I am very happy [lots of applause]’.

Showing gratitude and love in an immensely important moment for @aleixespargaro 🫶

El Capitan got very emotional thanking his family 🥹#GrazieCapitano pic.twitter.com/vLoYt82LcJ

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 23, 2024