After a 3rd podium of the season at Jerez, Aleix Espargaro claims he’ll “keep my feet on the ground,” but considers Aprilia’s 2022 MotoGP league title is “real.”
After finishing 3rd during last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix after beating out Jack Miller and Marc Marquez in closing laps, the senior Spaniard is now only 7 points behind second-placed Fabio Quartararo in the rankings.
It was his first back-to-back podium in MotoGP following his third in Portugal, and it came after his stunning victory in Argentina.
Espargaro concedes the Aprilia is “missing” something to equal Quartararo, but thinks the Aprilia is still solidly in the championship hunt.
“I will not wake up till Valencia,” he replied when asked if he was living a dream.
“I started dreaming in Qatar, and I will try to keep my feet on the ground. But it’s real, it’s real.
“We are doing a great job. We have to know that for the moment the feeling that I have, with Fabio we don’t really have his speed.
“We are missing something – not so much, because today I think if I was not stuck behind Jack [Miller] and Marc [Marquez] I would have been very close to them [Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia].
“I missed something, so the key this year will be the consistency, making no mistakes, being there.
“We did almost 33% of the championship and we are just seven points behind him.”
Because of Espargaro’s podium in Jerez, Aprilia has lost its results-based allowances that it had since returning to MotoGP in 2015.
Aprilia would not be able to test in-season with its racers, and its engine allotment will be cut from nine to seven from 2023, preventing the company from actively developing engines and aerodynamics next season.
While Espargaro admits that this will be “difficult” for Aprilia’s technicians, he thinks that losing the concessions – which he has never appreciated in the first place – is “fair” given the RS-current GP’s performance.
“I think that if we are in race six and we are seven points from the leader, the bike is working well,” Espargaro added.
“It’s fair to lose the concessions. It’s fair to fight with them with the same weapons.
“I believe a lot with Aprilia engineers and I know in Noale they will be a little bit more stressed.
“But I don’t think it will change a lot. My life will be easier, I had a test after Le Mans in Mugello. I will have more time to go home, I will have more time to cycle.
“I’m not really stressed. The most difficult thing was to reach the level we reached. The engine will have to last a little bit more, but I think they will do it.”
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