Aleix Espargaro reveals secrets of mastering the low grip Barcelona circuit
“This morning when I woke up, the first thing that came into 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 c🌱ircuit on a weekend which is turning into a dream for him.
A day after teaཧrfully confirming that he would retire at the end of the season, Espargaro claimed a lap record during Friday practice at tꦿhe Catalunya MotoGP.
Last year, Espargaro won in Barcelona - his home race, at a ci𓃲rcuit where the Aprilia is feared by its rivals.
Espargaro’s secret on Friday was: “The way you accelerate is completely different. You wait, wait, wait to understand when you have rear tr🎃act🌄ion.
“If y𒁃ou rush one metre with the throttle, you enter a spin and you wi⛎ll never recover the traction.
“Especially with a new tyre it is very difficulꦿt to understand where you can accelerate.”
He described the track: “The grip is🥂 very poor. I st🅷ruggled this morning with how to ride the bike.
“It was a shock. It’s not about the speed, it’s about the feeli♎ng.
“Then, lap by lap, I enjoyed it a lot. I had fun. I ne🧔ver thought 🤡I could break the record today, so I am happy.”
Espargaro was asked if the trackꦯ was different to a year ago when he w๊on the grand prix.
“Not so different,” he said. “A little worse grip. It is always shocking when you come to Barcelona because the grip is extremely low, so you have to adapt. It is not 💃easy.”
He added: “The grip is too low. I pr🍒efer low grip to a bumpy track. But the low grip is dramatic.”
Notably Espargaro displayed his be🐟st day of the 2024 season after confirming retirement in a🍸n emotional press conference.
“The feeling? Yesterday was an amazing day, one of the b𒐪est days of my life,” he said.
“This morning when I woke up, the first thi๊ng that came into my mind was ‘you took the right decision’.
“I woke up super happy and relaxed. I had breakfast in the motorhome and it was like home, nor🎐mal. Normally it is not like this.
“So, this morning I ♕was relaxed. Also, I rode the bike relaxed.
“So I am glad I took this decision.”
Espargaro joked that the goodwill and🐷 relief of announcing his retirement couldꩲ power him on throughout the rest of 2024, as it helped him on Friday in Barcelona.
“I hope! It hasn’t been the best start to a season of my life,” he🌟 said.
“But I have nine points more than last year. If I ride like this an✃d win the title it would be amazing! Like a fairytale!
“I know I will miss it a lot. Everไybody in Apr𒊎ilia, riding the RS-GP. The only purpose I have is to smile in every lap until Valencia.”
Ja﷽m💎es was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
