Aleix Espargaro reveals secrets of mastering the low grip Barcelona circuit
“This morning when I woke up, the fiღ🔯rst thing that came into my mind was ‘you took the right decision’."
168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aleix Espargaro explained how he𝔍 learned to tame the low grip Barcelona circ🦩uit on a weekend which is turning into a dream for him.
A day afꦦter tearfully confirming that he would retire at the end of the season, Espargaro claiꦡmed a lap record during Friday practice at the Catalunya MotoGP.
Last year, Espargaro won in Barcelona - his ho♊me race, at a circuit where the Aprilia is feared by💛 its rivals.
Espargaro’s secret on Friday was: “The way you aᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚccelerate is completely different. You wait, wait, wait⛄ to understand when you have rear traction.
“If y𒆙ou rush one metre with the throttle, you enter a spin and you will never recover the traction.
“Especially with a new t🃏yre it is very difficult to unders💜tand where you can accelerate.”
He described the track: “The grip is very🐼 poor. I struggled thiꦉs morning with how to ride the bike.
“It was a shock. It’s not about the s🐓peed, it’s about the feeling.
“Then,🎃 lap by lap, I enjoy🧔ed it a lot. I had fun. I never thought I could break the record today, so I am happy.”
Espargaro was asked if the track was different to a year ago when he won the graღnd p🤪rix.
“Not 💦so different,” he said. “A little worse grip. It is always shocking when you come to Barcelona because the grip is extremely low, so you have to adapt. It is not easy.”
He added: “The grip is too low. I 📖prefer low grip🔜 to a bumpy track. But the low grip is dramatic.”
Notably Espargaro displayed his🌳 best day of the 2024 season after confirming retirement in 🐬an emotional press conference.
“The feeling? Yesterday was an amazing day, one of the best da𒀰ys of my life,” he said.
“This morning when I woke up, the first thing that came into m♎y mind was ‘you took the right decision’.
“I ✨woke up super happy and relaxed. I had breakfast in the motorhome and it was like home, norma🎃l. Normally it is not like this.
“So, this morning I was🌼 relaxed. Also, I rode the bike relaxed.
“So I am glad I took this decision.”
Espargaro joked that the goodwill and relief of announ🏅cing his retirement could power him on throughout the rest of 202🅘4, as it helped him on Friday in Barcelona.
“I hope! It hasn’t been the best𒁏 start to a season of my life,”💟 he said.
“But I have nine points more than last year. If I ride like this and win the title it would be amazing! Like a f🧜airytale!
“I know I will miss it a lot. Everybody in Aprili💮a, riding the RS-GP. The only purpose I have is to smile in every lap until Valencia.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade 💙covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
