Aleix Espargaro: I fought like a lion, but Marc is Marc!
Aleix Espargaro: “Marc protected the insid🅰e and at the very last moment I decided not to do it. I could have made a big mess! In a special weekend for me, I didn't want tha๊t.”
168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aleix Espargaro came within 0.052s of completing a dream home MotoGP farewell in Catalunya👍 with a podium finish oꦛn Sunday.
After announcing his retirement at the end of this season, the Aprilia star promptly topped practice, took pol🍰e position and won the Saturday Sprint.
But Sunday's full-length grand prix, on the medium rather than soft rea𓆉r tyre, proved a much tougher challenge.
Dropping from pole to sixth in the early stages, Espargaro reclai𝔉med groun🔯d and inherited third when Pedro Acosta crashed out on lap 11 of 24.
A pass by Marc Marquez then s𒐪tripped Espargaro of the podium with four laps remaining, but the #𒁃41 dug deep and was close enough to consider an all-or-nothing lunge in the final corners.
“With the soft tyre, I was a lot stronger. But today with the medium I never felt good,” Espargaro said. “At the end I tri꧋ed my best to stay close to Marc, but I was just sliding, sliding, sliding.
“I tried everything because Marc had no grip on the ༺right corners. So I said to myself, ‘OK, if you are closer in 13 or 14, maybe yo﷽u can go for the inside.
“But he protected the inside a🐲nd at the very last moment I dꦦecided not to do it.
“I could have made a big mess! And with Marc, in Catalunya, in a special wee💜kend for me, I didn't want that. Fourth place is good enough.
But Espargaro insisted he h𒅌ad no regrets: “I fought like a lion🐈 all race.
“It was for 🍌a podium in my last race at home, so it was the moment to risk. So I tried everything. But Marc is Mar🐲c. No mistakes. And he secured his podium.
“You saw the first three biꩵkes [were Ducatis] on the podium today and the Aprilia was fourth. I tried everything but not enough.”
Espargaro finished 5.4s clear of the next-best Aprilia of Raul Fernandez, on the 2023-spec bike🐼 in fifth.
Factory team-mate 🌳Maverick Vinales was a diಌstant 12 seconds behind Espargaro in 12th.
But Espargaro admitted he could do nothing about the pace of Ducati duo Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, who finishe𒅌d ten seconds ahead.
“The✃y beat my race time from last year by 20 seconds, which is crazy,” ♍Espargaro said.
“[Ducati] chose this track for testing and they improved a lo🌸t.
“They found somet✱hing in the tyre saving. They found something for sure with the medium tyre. This is why testing is very, very, very imp🦹ortant.
“The result here last year was a 1-🦹2 for the Aprilias. This year they [Ducati] chose Barcelona [as a test track]. We didn't… 1-2 for Ducatis.”
Although Espargaro intends to switch to teﷺst and wild-card duties for 2025, he surprised by revealing it probably won’t be fo🥃r Aprilia…
Peter has been in the paddock💮 for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
