Aleix Espargaro has doubled down on comments suggesting some of his fellow MotoGP veterans should've considered stepping down and making room for younger talents - even as he lashed out at his initial Spanish-language answers on the topic being turned into what he felt were "clickbait" headlines ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The Aprilia racer, who will retire at the end of the current season and become Honda’s new MotoGP test rider, took objection to the framing of those comments - but was quick to clarify that he stands by the sentiment he was trying to put forward.
“They put from my mouth that I said it was ridiculous that Jack will get a bike,” Espargaro clarified on the impending news of Jack Miller’s move from KTM to Pramac Yamaha for 2025 - for a seat that was initially expected to go to current Moto2 leader Sergio Garcia.
“But you know the clickbait, the Spanish press, how it is. It is nothing new.”
What he actually said, the 35-year-old insisted, was not even necessarily aimed at any of his MotoGP rivals specifically but rather at his own feelings about continuing past this season, echoing comments he’s made in the past about knowing when would be the right time for him to call it a day after nearly two decades in the premier class.
“What I said was talking about myself,” he stressed, “about how when I was not competitive enough and when other team-mates with the same bike were beating me constantly I would go away.
“This is what I said, and I said that I was very happy that [Aprilia satellite team] Trackhouse is signing [Ai] Ogura because he is a young guy and I think they need to give them opportunities.
“I said that this year I feel like I don’t have 100% the commitment, the desire to go racing like I did in the past, and this is why I decided to stop. This is what I said, but I never said that it’s unfair that Jack gets a bike, because Jack loves the bikes more than me and if someone wants to give him a bike, that’s OK."
However, in traditional outspoken Espargaro style, he then also explained that he did feel some of the Moto2 hopefuls were being hard done by.
"For me it’s not good to block the young riders. You see Sergio Garcia or [Tony] Arbolino, and I think they deserve a bike, but it’s nothing against Jack, against Franco [Morbidelli], or we can say also Miguel [Oliveira] because he is two years with the same bike as me and you have the results there [in front of you].
“I never said the headline, the title, that ‘Jack Miller does not deserve a bike," he added.
But when asked if the related observation that Morbidelli - who was officially given a VR46 deal for 2025 today - was being consistently beaten by his current Pramac team-mate Jorge Martin was an accurate reflection of his comments, Espargaro said that was "100% fair".
"It’s just my opinion, but I said about it regarding myself - that if I felt like this I would go home. This is me.
“If they want to continue and a team wants to sign them, that’s OK.”
