Aleix Espargaro reveals secrets of mastering the low grip Barcelona circuit
“This morning when I woke up, the first thing that came intꦬo my mind was ‘you took the right decision’."
168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aleix Espargaro explained how he learned to tame the low grip Barcelona circuit on a wee🗹kend whi🌄ch is turning into a dream for him.
A day after tearfully confirming that he would retire at the end of the season, Espargaro claimed a lap record during Friday practice at the Catalunya MotoGꦕP.
La🧜st year, Espargaro won in Barcelona - his home race, at a circuit where the Aprilia is feared by its rivals.
Espargaro’s secret on Friday was: “The way you accelerate is completely differe𓄧nt. You wait, wait, wait to understand when you have rear traction.
“If you rush one metre with the throttle, you enter a spin and you will never recover the tr🔯action.
“Especially with a new tyre it is very difficult to under𒅌stand w𝔍here you can accelerate.”
He described the track: “The grip is very poor. I struggled this morning with how to ridꦦe the bike.
“It was a shock. It’s not about the speed, it’𒁃s about the feeling.
“Then, lap by lap, I enjoyed it a lot. I h♒ad fu𝄹n. I never thought I could break the record today, so I am happy.”
Espargaro was a💮sked if the track was different to a year ago when he won the grand pr🔯ix.
“Not so different,”♛ he said. “A little worse grip. It is always shocking when you come to Barcelona because the grip is extr🃏emely low, so you have to adapt. It is not easy.”
He added: “The grip is ﷽too low. I prefer low grip to a bumpy track. But the low grip is dramatic.”
Notably Espargaro displayed his best😼 day 🧸of the 2024 season after confirming retirement in an emotional press conference.
“The feeling? Yesterday ꦇwas an amazing day, one of theꦅ best days of my life,” he said.
“This morni🐓ng when I woke up, the first thing that came into my mind was ‘you took the right decision’.
“I woꦍke up super ha꧟ppy and relaxed. I had breakfast in the motorhome and it was like home, normal. Normally it is not like this.
“So, this morning I was relaxed. Also, I rode the biꦦke relaxed.
“So I am glad I took this decision.”
Espargaro joked that the goodwill and relief of announcing his retirement could power him on throughout the rest of 2024, as it h꧟elped him on Friday in Barcelona.
“I hope! It hasn’t been the best start to a season✃ of my life,” he said.
“But I haveꦬ nine points more than last year. If I ride like this and win the title it would be amazing! Like a fairytale!
“I know I will miss it a lot. Everybody in Aprilia, riding th💯e RS-GP. The only purpose I have is to smile in every lap until Valencia.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American s▨ports, to football, to F1.
