Aleix shows he is the Daddy on the Aprilia in Argentina!

April 8, 2022

Gran Premio Michelin De La Republica Argentina. Termas de Rio Hondo.

Quali:

Putting the Aprilia on pole was a just reward after a lot of hard work by the team and Aleix Espargaro over many years. Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati was P2 and Luca Marini P3, on the Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati.

Aprilia is a factory team but with concessions, so no factory bikes on the front row was significant, but welcome as a mix up in the order in MotoGP makes the series just that bit more interesting.

The Race:

Jorge Martin made a clean start off the grid and led the race on the first lap with Aleix Espargaro and Luca Marini in P2 and P3. The pace was set in lap two as Jorge Martin and Aleix pulled away from Pol Espargaro P3 and Marini P4. Fabio Quartararo lost places in the early laps and ended up P13, not where a world champion wants to be.

With 22 laps to go, the Aprilia looked sublime, with plenty of top end grunt coupled with a new found turning ability, as Aleix pursued Jorge Martin, looking in control in race trim. Johann Zarco was an early faller in an own-fault slide and out of the race, rider OK. Nineteen laps to go and Aleix posted the fastest lap and was targeting Martin, pulling him in lap after lap. Alex Rins on the Suzuki was P3 with Pol Espargaro P4, with those who might be expected to do well, Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo, the main protagonists from the end of the 2021 season flailing in P8 and P11 respectively.

With ten laps to go, Aleix Espargaro seemed to be struggling with unlocking the key to taking Martin, his braking technique not on form for an overtake. Aleix’s Brother Pol slipped out of the race, another bad day for him and Honda, who must be missing Marc Marquez, still under medical supervision after the Mandalika crash, and another incidence of double vision.

Eight laps to go, and Aleix finally pulled past Jorge Martin on the straight, with a textbook slipstreaming move but alas, as he went for the apex, carrying too much speed he went wide, and Martin maintained the lead. Martin was riding very defensively as Espargaro was getting closer, and once again, with six laps to go, Aleix tried another overtake but was thwarted by his braking timing, Jorge being amazing on the brakes. Five laps to go and finally Aleix took Jorge, and once he did, with clear space ahead of him, managed to hold Martin at bay, not that Jorge was in any way giving up.

Last lap and Aleix had gapped Martin by 0.910, now steady and inch-perfect as he went for the last corners and the win. Aleix has worked hard for this day, blood, sweat and tears, one of the fittest riders in the paddock his training regime is brutal, and he has never given up, a hard task having ridden in 200 MotoGP races. He and the Aprilia team have worked to improve themselves and are an example of pure determination winning over adversity. This was a popular win in the paddock and the emotions were high.