Adding up the four sprints and four grands prix that have graced the MotoGP calendar since the end of June, Aleix Espargaro has finished in the top five six times in that period, including first place three times. The culmination of the Aprilia driver’s currently extremely strong phase was last weekend in Barcelona, where he triumphed in front of his home crowd on both Saturday and Sunday.
When it comes to the question of what Aleix Espargaro is currently doing so well, brother Pol Espargaro doesn’t have to think twice. “He certainly drives very well. And he drives the best Aprilia ever,” says the younger of the two Espargaro brothers, who himself sits on a KTM in the Tech3 team. Pol doesn’t necessarily see the motorcycle as the deciding factor, but rather the position in which Aleix rides the Aprilia.
“Aleix fits in perfectly with this new style,” says Pol, and explains what he means by that: “I still remember how it was always said at the beginning of the Michelin era (2016; editor’s note) that you were, to a certain extent, outside of the motorcycle in order to be able to drive it properly.”
Why? “In order not to put too much strain on the tires with the movements of the body,” Pol Espargaro recalls the change of MotoGP tire supplier from Bridgestone and Michelin and further: “And I also remember how they always urged my brother to adopting that ‘next-to-the-bike’ style. It’s very different these days. You have to transfer the power to the tires differently these days.”
MotoGP: “Aleix hits the nail on the head”
In the riding position that is very close to the motorcycle, which is characteristic of Aleix Espargaro, his younger brother sees the great advantage that is really coming into its own right now. In addition, according to Pol Espargaro, there is good teamwork at Aprilia.
“He has an extremely good relationship with the engineers at Aprilia,” Pol says of Aleix. “He knows them all really well and he also knows the bike really well. Those are the details that make the difference when things get so extremely close. Milliseconds decide the Q2 entry, for example. Every detail counts . And Aleix just hits the nail on the head.”
And the younger Espargaro also believes that another, now retired from MotoGP racing, would really thrive given the current trend: Andrea Dovizioso. “I think ‘Dovi’ would be really strong in this new era. He was always quite static on the bike,” says Pol Espargaro about the three-time MotoGP runner-up Dovizioso, who resigned a year ago.