Spain’s Aleix Espargaró will retire at the end of the season and the Aprilia rider chose his home race, in Barcelona, to announce his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season.
He chose this track because he grew up in Granollers, just a few kilometres away from the paddock, and because a year ago he wrote one of the most memorable pages of Aprilia Racing history with a one-two finish with team-mate Maverick Vinales.
Espargaró’s career is closely linked to Aprilia Racing, for eight seasons he has raced with the Italian team, marking the most beautiful moments in its recent history.
He has won three Grand Prix races (Argentina 2022, Silverstone and Barcelona 2023), a sprint race (Barcelona 2023) and clinched 3 pole positions and 10 podiums.
However, the story doesn’t end here. There is still a long season ahead of us, starting from Barcelona where Aleix and Aprilia Racing have always delivered outstanding performances.
“I am happy to announce my retirement as a full-time rider,” said Espargaro.
“It has been a wonderful 20 years in this paddock and I am very happy and proud of what we have achieved together with Aprilia. We made history and that will never be forgotten.
“I have had so much fun and we have created an incredible human group.
“There are still plenty of races left until Valencia to be competitive.”
Vinales said Espargaro was a “great team-mate”.
“We have spent four years together and lived unforgettable moments. Together, we took Aprilia to the top, I have great memories with Aleix. We still have the rest of the year ahead of us to take Aprilia even higher together.”
Photo courtesy Aprilia
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