Is Aleix Espargaro’s rather old-school MotoGP riding style a major part of why the factory Aprilia rider is thriving as of late, having dominated the Barcelona sprint today?
Such is the suggestion of Espargaro’s brother Pol, who believes Aleix has hit upon the key to going fast on MotoGP’s Michelin tyres, especially when the series is facing low-grip conditions like this weekend in Barcelona.
“It’s true that he’s riding very good,” explained the Tech3 Gas Gas rider, “riding the best Aprilia. That’s why he’s the first Aprilia and his team-mates are behind.
“If you check in the past and in the new era, I remember when I started in MotoGP and especially at the start of the Michelins, they were saying you had to ride out of the bike. To not give the tyres so much input [load] with the movement of your body.
“Everyone was pushing my brother to go out of the bike more with his riding style, but these days it’s changing quite a lot.
“I believe that in this new era Dovi [Andrea Dovizioso] would also be quite good, because he’s another guy who was quite static on the bike. Aleix is fitting to this new style and fitting to the bike.
“The tyres change, and you need to apply the force to them in a different way. It’s not the same, being on the bike seated completely and you push the tyre or you are away and you don’t put weight on the rear tyre.”
Pol did clarify that he wasn’t trying to say that was the predominant reason his elder brother was thriving – but, in any case, it’s an assessment that Aleix himself largely agreed with, too.
Admitting that he’s more than aware that his old-school form on the bike is far from pretty, it’s also the one that works for him – and becomes a real strength when conditions are similar to this weekend at the Catalan circuit.
“We will need a lot of time to try and explain this!” he joked when asked about his style. “But I made this bike, for this time of riding style. I don’t really like my style of riding – I would rather have more lean angle on the floor. I try this sometimes in tests but I don’t see a benefit. It’s very beautiful, what Jorge Martin is doing, but I don’t see a benefit.
That's just ridiculous really isn't it 😅@88jorgemartin 🔥#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/DR0AnhVl03
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 1, 2023
“The Aprilia turns by itself. You can help it, for sure, but you can’t force it like hell because the bike doesn’t work on the right way. This was clear to me at the beginning: the bike needs to turn by itself. I think the Aprilia is the bike that turns the most on the grid.
”The riding style is different, yeah, but I don’t think that it’s a problem. It’s not beautiful sometimes, but with these type of tyres when there’s no grip like today, it’s a benefit.”
But while it might be a benefit for Espargaro, the fact that he’s been leading Aprilia’s development of the RS-GP since 2017 means that it’s also something that presents a challenge for others: namely, his team-mate Maverick Vinales.
“I knew when I entered into Aprilia, I knew that the bike was completely done by Aleix,” admitted the podium finisher who was essentially recruited into the team by his friend and team-mate. “I think he’s been here eight years, so it’s only normal.
“I needed to make a switch in my head, make a new programme. It was tough! It’s not easy, and it’s not an easy bike. But it is a bike that when you ride it well and take the maximum from it, you have the potential to be at the front, and that’s fantastic.
“This year we are sometimes taking different ways because I ride very differently. With more angle all the time, with my body more out, picking up the bike. Sometimes, it’s a good thing, sometimes not. When there is a lot of grip, it’s a good thing, but when there’s not it’s more difficult to make traction.
“It’s something I can learn though, and thankfully today I have Aleix alongside me and he was the fastest one. I can learn from him, and understand that when there is no grip I do one riding style and when there is, I do another. We are riders, we must improve, but it’s not an easy bike.”
