Aleix Espargaró: "I no longer knew where to get the motivation from"

He debuted in the World Cup in November, when the season was already dying, and at 15 years old.

He was nothing more than an

And for a time like that he continued, as a kind of outsider, who was given opportunities in a dropper and almost arbitrarily.

And so it was for years.

Last Sunday he won his first race in the World Championship.

Now that he is 32, the age at which many retire from competition, Aleix Espargaró (Granollers, Barcelona) feels more capable than ever.

He arrives in Austin – the race, this Sunday, at 8:00 p.m., on DAZN, with Jorge Martín on

and Aleix, 13th – with fired ambition and as the leader of MotoGP.

Ask.

She just got the word resilience tattooed on her wrist.

What was that key moment in her life when she hit rock bottom?

Response.

At the end of 2018. I was not happy.

And I have one thing very clear: in this life the first thing is to be happy, then everything else comes.

That year, in MotoGP, I was not happy.

And I really thought about quitting, a change of scenery.

I was just about.

I remember having dinner with my wife a couple of weeks before Christmas: 'Laura, let's do something else.

I'm already 30 years old and I'm not that stupid, it's not that I only know how to give gas to the motorcycle.

I am capable of doing many other things.

And I could spend more time with you,' I said.

She supported me to the fullest.

But Massimo Rivola [Aprilia sports director] arrived, put order in the team, changed the project and convinced me to try it one more time.

It was the key.

P.

Was that why you decided to keep running?

R.

Yes, because of the changes I saw at the factory, in Noale.

That December, Rivola told me that new engineers would arrive, that he trusted me a lot.

The team grew.

And all that change gave me the positive energy I needed.

I had an empty tank, I no longer knew where to get the motivation.

And see that I am a positive person.

But I cant.

We had been taking steps backwards for four years.

It affected me to see that it did not progress.

Feeling that he was driving well, but that it was not worth it

P.

In this time, what injury has left you the most affected?

R.

It is not that physically the injuries have affected me a lot on the mental plane.

We are very used to injuring ourselves throughout our sports career.

It's part of the game.

But it did affect me to crash over and over again against the same wall, to see that I did not progress.

Feeling that I was riding well, but that I didn't get past 12th position, that I fell, that there was no way.

And that does affect you.

In this world it is not only the Indian, but also the arrow.

Q.

When you won last week in Argentina, you remembered those bad moments.

R.

From a very young age my dream was this, my life was always linked to MotoGP.

But he was very clear that the priority was to be happy.

And since my children were born, what has cost me the most in my job is being on the road.

If you have to be away from them, it has to be worth it.

If you're not happy, none of that makes sense.

That's why I started to rethink everything.

My children were then six months old.

I was lucky, which not everyone has, to be surrounded by a magnificent environment.

They and my wife have been key in my sports career.

Other pilots have not had the same luck and at certain moments have been lost.

In the life of an elite athlete there are days when you can feel very alone, especially when things are not going well.

Now everyone hugs you and smiles at you.

But there are difficult moments when,

If I have to be away from my children, this has to be worth it

P.

What were you thinking when you broke down crying, your wife on the phone, the other day when you won at Termas de Río Hondo?

R.

I couldn't even say a word, being able to talk to her and hear her voice was brutal.

I would have been very excited if Laura and the little ones could be there, being able to share it with them would have been brutal.

I was very lucky that on the first podium with Aprilia at Silverstone they were there.

Honestly, I don't know if it was more beautiful on Sunday at Silverstone or in Argentina, because if you don't share happiness, it doesn't make sense.

P.

In all this framework, what role does the bike play?

A.

It may seem that the bike is a training tool.

And it is.

But it has given me much more on a mental level.

It has been my refuge for a long time because on the bike there are no excuses.

There you are alone.

And the improvement you are capable of depends on you.

I am a very professional person, I really like training and taking care of all aspects of my life.

And I grabbed onto the bike like a straw.

I became interested in nutrition and physical preparation to improve with the bike.

And that was my way of diverting attention from the bikes, of being focused, happy, positive.

Aleix Espargaró, at the Las Américas circuit, in Austin. AFP7 via Europa Press (Europa Press)

P.

Your technician, Antonio Jiménez, said in Argentina that they have a “

” motorcycle.

R.

It's hard to judge where the Aprilia is in relation to the other factories.

What I do know is that for me it is a very good bike.

I have the feeling that this Aprilia is an extension of my body: I ​​think that the bike should go there and it goes there;

I want it to stop at one point and stop at that point.

And that is something that makes me feel very proud.

Because I have made this bike.

And now, finally, it is a very competitive bike.

I don't know if I would be able to go much faster on any other bike.

The big difference this year has been the step forward we have been able to make with the engine.

This year's one turns at higher revolutions, runs more and allows me not only to be more competitive, but also not to suffer behind others and to be able to overtake.

If the race in Argentina had been last year, I don't know how I would have overtaken Jorge Martín;

This year I was able to overtake him on the straight because I had traction and because the engine was with me.

Without that, how do you win?

It would have been second.

Q.

Is it realistic to think of Aprilia fighting for the World Championship?

R.

It is realistic.

It's a dream, but I think we've at least earned the right to dream.

I am the leader of the championship and if I am it is because I have been the most regular and the fastest in the first three races.

Why can't Aprilia and I think we can win?

It will be difficult, we have to go race by race and keep our feet on the ground, but yes, we are candidates for the title.

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