Aleix Espargaró just missed out on the podium in his last MotoGP race at the Catalunya GP. The home rider finished in fourth place, after being overtaken by Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) near the end with no response.
The Aprilia rider explained that he couldn’t be competitive with the medium tire: ‘The soft tire was much stronger, but in Sunday’s race with the medium, I never felt good, I never felt strong. I tried everything I could to be competitive, but I couldn’t keep up with the front riders. In the end, I tried my best to stay close to Marc, but I was just sliding, so there was nothing I could do‘.
The winner was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), ahead of Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), and Espargaró acknowledged the work of both rivals with the tires: ‘From the start, zero grip. I couldn’t touch the throttle. It’s obvious that Pecco and Jorge did a good job, they improved a lot compared to last year, they were extremely fast with the medium tire and we couldn’t. With the soft tire, I could match them, but with the medium, it was impossible‘.
Despite trying to manage the tires well, #41 was unable to keep them, as he explained: ‘I tried to save the tire from the beginning, knowing that it would be dramatic in the end. But still, halfway through the race, I didn’t have a tire. I was sliding a lot from the start, so I was wearing out the tire. Even if I tried to lift, the thing is that halfway through the race, the top two started flying and it was not possible for me to keep up‘.
Preguntado si consideró usar el neumático blando trasero, Espargaró dijo: ‘Sí, fue una posibilidad. En la parte final de la Sprint todavía era rápido, pero consideramos con Michelin y mi equipo que nuestro consumo teórico para una carrera completa era demasiado alto, era demasiado arriesgado. Por eso, decidimos ir con el medio – lo cual no es una excusa: el primero y el segundo del podio usaron el neumático medio. Pero no funcionó para mí’.
