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Aleix Espargarò had been waiting for this moment for a long time, the day in which he could take his Aprilia back to victory after his 2022 triumph in Argentina. There were all the signs that victory could come, the RS-GP is recognized by everyone as one of the fastest bikes in the paddock, but until now it had almost never been possible to realize its full potential.
Today, however, Aleix was perfect, he maintained Bagnaia's pace throughout the race, kept his nerve when in the final he was first caught and then passed by Binder and Vinales, and he had the determination to respond and then go and get Pecco Bagnaia to challenge him in a duel on the last lap that lasted up to a few corners from the line. After the podium in Assen comes this victory at Silverstone which also relaunches Aleix in the championship, projecting him into 6th position.
"There are days in my career when I felt I had something extra, that moment when I felt invincible - explained Aleix - Sure, there haven’t been many, but today it was like this. You feel like this and today already on the formation lap I felt good, I started well and then I easily reached Pecco's tail. When it started to rain I lost confidence for a moment, but then I saw that I was strong, I had traction and I waited for the last lap to pass him.”
Today it seemed to be very easy for you to overtake.
"It's something to analyze, I overtake very easily, then on other days I can't pass anyone. There are races where I don't pass a rider in 20 laps, it's something I need to improve on. Today I had the right sensations with the front and I could attack, that's why I had it 'easy' overtaking".
What did you think when you saw the rain on your visor?
"It seems like a lifetime passes in three minutes. I saw that we had an advantage over those following us, but it evaporated immediately. I was a little disappointed when Binder and Vinales arrived and passed me, but then I told myself I just had to respond. Today the difficult thing was to do what Pecco did, because today he opened the track, he was in front. When I was in his tow in the last few laps I was super concentrated, I was able to evaluate everything well, where he was losing, where he was gaining ".
Aprilia gave a strong signal today.
"Great Aprilia today, there are three bikes in the top five, four in the top ten and I'd say we're getting there! I’m very happy to be back on top! Maybe at the beginning of the season the expectation was a bit too high on my side and the team. I made too many mistakes and lost too many points. I’ve had good speed, many Fridays and in many sessions I was very close to Pecco but it doesn’t matter. You have to be fast on Sunday. For one reason or another I was not able to match my speed with the results. Here I was fast on Friday, yesterday and today too. I was convinced I could do it, I didn't feel pressure because I was starting from behind, but I knew I had a good chance".
So do you think you put too much pressure on yourself at the beginning of the year?
"At the beginning of 2023, my goals were too high, I was really too optimistic. Now I feel more relaxed, yet I've just won. I feel more prepared. Of course, Pecco has an enormous advantage and it certainly won't be easy for me. But I think the world championship is still open. Race after race I just want to have fun, I don't want to put pressure on myself, I just want to keep my feet on the ground and then continue on this path."
Aprilia's innovations worked well.
"Since Friday, when I tried the new aerodynamics, I noticed that the bike turned better. The bike's pick up improved and I improved too thanks to this. I found myself with a lot more traction, it was an important upgrade without a doubt and I know that other new things will also arrive in Austria. Our bike is really fast, but it's not the fastest yet. But it could become so in the future".
Were you preparing for the attack on Bagnaia for a long time?
"I didn't have a precise plan, then in the end I concentrated and I also thought about last year's race, about the way I should have used to pass Pecco. Maybe the rain even helped me in the end. For me, we have too many things to do while we are on the track. We have to think about the devices, about the tyre pressure. In the last laps I was very concentrated, I also had to understand where the track was wetter. Today was I think the first time in my career in which I used a soft tyre front in the race and it worked better than expected".
Why do you think the Aprilia is so strong here?
"This is a track where traction is important, but you don't necessarily need enormous power. Silverstone brings out the characteristics of the RS-GP, but we were also very fast on other tracks, so in my opinion our bike simply doesn't always show its full potential, which however is very high".
Can you tell us about that moment in parc fermé with your children?
"Today I was so concentrated at the end of the race that when I saw the flag I wasn't thrilled, I felt more exhausted than anything else. But then my children were in parc fermé and just this morning Max had asked me to stay in front because otherwise I wouldn't he would have seen me on TV. I told him I would give it a try! When I saw him in parc fermé I burst into tears, it was beautiful."
You said that maybe the current one would be your last contract. What do you say today?
"I'd like to extend this feeling for another couple of seasons. I'm 34 and I feel I've never ridden as well as I'm doing now. It's still strange today for me to fight at the top in MotoGP, because even in the small classes I've never been at the top so often. These two guys here with me in the conference (Bagnaia and Binder) instead have won a lot in both Moto3 and Moto2".
