Valencia MotoGP: 'Emotional' weekend for Aleix Espargaro

The only champion of the CRT ꦑMotoGP class, Aleix Espargaro will bid farewell to the Aspar team after Sunday's Valencia finale.
A Pramac Ducati rider in 2010, Espargaro dro🔯pped down to Moto2 be🍸fore signing to ride the Aspar-run ART in the new privateer MotoGP category.
The Spaniard has boosted his reputation by dominating the class for the past two seasons, and will move t﷽o the new Forward Racing Yamaha project for 2𒅌014.
"I am really looking forward to racing a🦹t home this weekend. It will be a special and emotional weekend for me because it is the end of an important era in my life, being my final race with the Power Electronics Aspar Team," he said.
"I really want to say goodbye to the team with the best possible result. The bike has given us some gr🦂eat results over the past ♒two years so hopefully we can produce one more.
"Even though we tied up the CRT championsh💝ip already in Australia we have gone two races without a [class] win now for one reason or a🗹nother so the objective is clear: we want to win this one and finish the season with a smile.
"It is quite a tight circuit and I think that should suit us so we will be doing everything we can to make t𒐪he most of our advantaꦉge and score a top result."
Nicky Hayden is confirmed as joining the new Aspar Honda project, with his team-mate yet to be announced. Hiroshi Aoyama is tipped to get the second seat, but Espargaro's present team-m😼ate Randy de Puniet has not yet been officially ruled out.
The Frenchman, who has been combining his Aspar race duties with Suzuki deve🍬lopment work, heads to Valencia with a real chance of taking second in the CRT standings from Colin Edwards.
"I really like Valencia and it has been a good circuit for me in the past," said de Puniet. "We are in good form, my feeling with the bike over the 🔯past two races has been good and I hope this continues through to this Sunday.
"If we keep working in the same way we have recently then I am sure we can end the season with a good result, which is importan⛦t. Normally I prefer faster circuits but there are some sections of this track that I really like and I am sure our bike will adapt well.
"The objective is to finish the races as the top CRT and hopefully score four m𒈔ore points than Colin Edwards to finish ahead of him as runner-up in the CRT champion🅷ship."

Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valent♎ino Rossi come and go. He is at tꦫhe forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.