Thirty journalists listening to Aleix Espargaró (Granollers, 1989) in his appearance after the first day of the Catalan Grand Prix give the measure of who is the star of the moment in MotoGP. “Thirty people and now playing Nadal...”, the Aprilia rider was surprised, who wants to be a prophet in his land, three kilometers from the city where he was born. It is the first time in his 13 years in the premier class that the oldest of the Espargaró brothers is the favorite in the home race. This was demonstrated yesterday, better time in the first tests. Something has changed, as he explains to La Vanguardia.
He arrives in Montmeló second in the World Championship, with one victory, five podiums... He had never seen himself so high up. Does it give you vertigo?
It's not that I hadn't seen myself so high up, it's that I hadn't even dreamed of it. I am enjoying it very much. The fact of having suffered so much during my sports career, of having been behind for so many years, turns that into illusion instead of pressure. At the moment, I don't feel pressured at all, on the contrary.
How do you feel in this new status? More respected?
What I am achieving at 32 years old is a unique and very historic case, with a brand that I had not won... There had been no case like this, or similar, in MotoGP. It's a strange feeling: I like that many riders are starting to see Aprilia and Aleix as candidates for the title. It means that they really see that we have speed and stability, consistency, and it makes me proud.
And do you believe it? Do we point him out as a firm candidate for the title?
We are fighting for the championship and it is fair that I believe it. It's more: if I don't believe that I can be a champion, I won't be. You have to trust yourself to the end. I would also feel very bad, now that I do not stop doing podiums, that it would be a disappointment to be third in the world. It would be a resounding success! But the objective, for which I am working more than ever, is to be a champion.
A pilot with whom he spoke gave him more options because, he said, “Aleix has nothing to lose; as he has never fought for a title, he is not afraid to make a mistake”. Is it so?
Yes, totally. They ask me how I handle the pressure, but none of that, I'm enjoying myself like an animal fighting with the best... So what comes will be historic. I have nothing to lose.
How do you explain the growth, from being 8th in the world last year to contender for the title this year?
The fundamental part has been the technique: the bike has improved a lot, the engine has grown, last year we already took a step forward. As a rider I needed to see myself for a year fighting with the best, to finish believing it. The most important thing is my rapport with Aprilia, with the bike and the team, and having made the bike to measure; that makes the difference.
They say that having children makes you go half a second slower per lap. In his case, Max and Mia are more inspiration than a brake...
One thing works for each one, and it has given me stability, my wife Laura and my children, which is impossible for me to find in anything else. They give me a positive energy and tranquility that is a great culprit for the success this year.
More than a source of concern, because they have suffered health problems...
Of course it affected me, but it has also strengthened me. Mia suffered from heart disease, we operated on her twice. This Sunday they turn 4 years old. Mia is my inspiration. I have also had the great luck of my wife, my best friend. My emotional stability is thanks to her.
Is the Aleix Espargaró of now more focused? Before he was very active on social media, he had controversies with everyone...
Yes, now I am more focused. It has been thanks to being a father, which has given me stability, happiness, positive energy, which has made me pay attention to what matters. I am in the best moment of my life, everything affects me much less. When you are very happy and have everything you have dreamed of, there is no point in wasting time with things that alter this stability. Before I entered the rag of things that now I see very far away.
He has dominated in the first free. Is Sunday for victory, which would be the second in MotoGP? Many see it as a favorite.
It would be a pride, brutal, the host. Everything that is happening is brutal, what people are saying, everything that is happening... Very few riders in modern MotoGP history have achieved four podiums in a row, the Fantastic Four and myself. I arrive at a very good time, but this is a double-edged sword. I want to win at home, I'll try my best, but we have to be aware of what's at stake: it's important not to fail with Fabio (Quartararo), because he won't fail and he doesn't usually make mistakes.
So, do you see Quartararo as the greatest rival for the title?
Now it seems a bit early to say names of candidates. The top four in the World Cup –Quartararo, Espargaró, Bastianini, Bagnaias- have distanced ourselves a bit, but if Rins wins here and we fail, everything compresses. I think that Fabio, for being the current champion, for having a bike that he knows very well and because this year he is going very fast, he is the rival to beat. The others, I don't know. I see Bastianini as very explosive, but he is making more mistakes.
The absence of Marc Márquez has opened the range of applicants. Has he favored you?
At no time has it favored us. Marc was the flagship of MotoGP, he filled circuits, he gave a lot of spectacle, he raised the level... If he was good, he was very difficult to beat. But this year Honda is having a hard time, they don't have the best bike. I would have liked more for him to be well and to be able to fight with him, like in Qatar, but health is ahead.
In Mugello he went to hug him. There is humanity in the elite!
It is that some hot statements are confused by an action on the track with a bad relationship. Marc and I have had our friction (in Jerez, for looking for the 93 Aleix's wheel), but the relationship is good. You are experiencing a super tough situation; accustomed to always winning, now he can't even hold the handlebars because he doesn't have the strength. He is suffering a lot. I gave him a lot of encouragement and wished him to come back soon.
His brother Pol is also suffering. How can you help him?
I try to be humanely by his side, talk little about motorcycles. Pol is an extraordinary pilot. He makes me laugh when other names are mentioned to replace him, none of them is better than him. But it is clear that we live from the results, and when they do not come out the easiest thing is to change the pilot.
Do you see it renewing with Honda?
I feel very bad because Repsol Honda is historically Barça, and for him, arriving at Barça at this time is sad. It is very important to be in the best team in the world, but also to be happy and enjoy, and Pol is neither enjoying nor being happy. As a brother, I want him to be happy, whether it's on a Honda, a KTM or a Rieju.
