How Aleix Espargarò Made Such A Rookie Mistake
- 2 tahun yang lalu
The race in Barcelona seemed to have settled into a stalemate going into the penultimate lap with Fabio Quartararo enjoying a comfortable lead and Aleix Espargarò in second. However, Aleix then made a major blunder as he slowed down on the assumption that the race was over. This demoted him from 2nd to 5th. He has now explained how this error occurred
I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Moto World:
How Aleix Espargarò Made Such A Rookie Mistake
Aleix started off by apologizing
“I’m sorry. That’s the only thing that I can say, sorry to my team. It’s completely my fault”
He then explained how his team’s pit board position at the beginning of the pit lane right out of the last corner didn’t allow him to get the necessary information on all laps
“My people [with the pit board] were the first ones [out of the last corner]”
“So some laps I had no time to look at the laps [remaining on the pit board] as well as the gap with Martin”
“I was pushing to the limit so I just watched the gap with Martin, +0.6”
The gantry in Barcelona also uses a different system where the last lap is denoted as L0 instead of L1 like the other circuits
Aleix explained how this added to the confusion
“Then I watched the tower and I saw ‘L1’. So I did one more lap”
“I didn’t remember that here in Barcelona last lap is ‘0’ not ‘1’ and I closed the gas on the straight”
He signed off by accepting that he can’t make such mistakes
“I’m very sorry for my team because, I didn’t have the speed of Fabio to win, but if I want to beat him in the championship I cannot do these mistakes”
“Today I lost 9 [extra] points, so I’m very sorry”
Fast Feed
Defending world champion Fabio Quartararo revealed that he “wasn’t controlling [his pace] all the race”
“I was pushing from the beginning and seeing how my rear tyre was going and it was really good. I had some margin so I was always increasing my lead so I’m happy”
“Mugello and here [were] meant to be difficult but 2nd and 1st is a great result”
Pramac’s Johann Zarco stated that “this mistake at the end [by Aleix] was incredible”
“When Aleix [slowed down] on the last lap I initially thought it was a mechanical problem”
“Then I realized he was celebrating. I said to myself ‘finish the lap and take the podium’”
His teammate Jorge Martin feels that “it’s been a long season, it’s been tough”
“In the last few races I knew I was still the same ‘Martinator’ and this weekend was almost perfect”
Suzuki’s Joan Mir pointed out that when “the problem with Aleix happened, I went to the fourth”
“I probably have to give him a bottle of wine for the position, sorry for him. He will learn from this mistake”
“I think it has happened to many, and we all make mistakes. He’s doing a fantastic job and this can happen. He has to be proud of the race he did”
[All quotes taken from the post-race media debriefs]
Will this mistake dent Aleix Espargarò’s confidence as a championship contender?
I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Moto World:
How Aleix Espargarò Made Such A Rookie Mistake
Aleix started off by apologizing
“I’m sorry. That’s the only thing that I can say, sorry to my team. It’s completely my fault”
He then explained how his team’s pit board position at the beginning of the pit lane right out of the last corner didn’t allow him to get the necessary information on all laps
“My people [with the pit board] were the first ones [out of the last corner]”
“So some laps I had no time to look at the laps [remaining on the pit board] as well as the gap with Martin”
“I was pushing to the limit so I just watched the gap with Martin, +0.6”
The gantry in Barcelona also uses a different system where the last lap is denoted as L0 instead of L1 like the other circuits
Aleix explained how this added to the confusion
“Then I watched the tower and I saw ‘L1’. So I did one more lap”
“I didn’t remember that here in Barcelona last lap is ‘0’ not ‘1’ and I closed the gas on the straight”
He signed off by accepting that he can’t make such mistakes
“I’m very sorry for my team because, I didn’t have the speed of Fabio to win, but if I want to beat him in the championship I cannot do these mistakes”
“Today I lost 9 [extra] points, so I’m very sorry”
Fast Feed
Defending world champion Fabio Quartararo revealed that he “wasn’t controlling [his pace] all the race”
“I was pushing from the beginning and seeing how my rear tyre was going and it was really good. I had some margin so I was always increasing my lead so I’m happy”
“Mugello and here [were] meant to be difficult but 2nd and 1st is a great result”
Pramac’s Johann Zarco stated that “this mistake at the end [by Aleix] was incredible”
“When Aleix [slowed down] on the last lap I initially thought it was a mechanical problem”
“Then I realized he was celebrating. I said to myself ‘finish the lap and take the podium’”
His teammate Jorge Martin feels that “it’s been a long season, it’s been tough”
“In the last few races I knew I was still the same ‘Martinator’ and this weekend was almost perfect”
Suzuki’s Joan Mir pointed out that when “the problem with Aleix happened, I went to the fourth”
“I probably have to give him a bottle of wine for the position, sorry for him. He will learn from this mistake”
“I think it has happened to many, and we all make mistakes. He’s doing a fantastic job and this can happen. He has to be proud of the race he did”
[All quotes taken from the post-race media debriefs]
Will this mistake dent Aleix Espargarò’s confidence as a championship contender?