Aprilia and Aleix Espargarò must defend third place in the final standings. After the criticisms of the past few days, the pilot turns around.
Aleix Espargaró he seemed to be able to play until the end for the 2022 world title, but after the podium at the Aragon MotorLand something went wrong in the Aprilia Racing garage. 18 points just collected in the last four races held in the East have forced the Noale manufacturer to revise its ambitions and postpone the world dream to next year. But in Valencia there is still a lot at stake.
In fact, the Granollers driver must defend the third place in the final standings from the onslaught of Enea Bastianini which, after the 2nd place in Malaysia, chases just one point away. We need a test of maturity, strong nerves and a bit of luck to defend the world podium, in the hope that the Aprilia RS-GP22 will be able to establish a good feeling with the Cheste circuit.
Aleix Espargarò defends the third place in the standings
In the last press conference before the Valencia GP, the veteran of the MotoGP class moderated his tone towards his manufacturer, dismissing criticism. He says he is convinced that he can complete a good weekend to give his men the best historical result at the end of a world championship MotoGP. Third place goal, it would be a well-deserved goal for both the team and the driver. “Enea has won many races, it was one of the revelations of the season, but we will fight for this third place“.
In the past few days he has talked extensively with the engineers Aprilia to understand what happened in the pits during the four rounds of Motegi, Buriram, Phillip Island and Malaysia. “We still don’t know what happened, but we are trying to find a solution“. In Valencia he will change several parts of the prototype, but first throws water on the fire after some inelegant statements towards his team. “I was a little too critical in Thailand and Australia, but I went from fighting for the podium to not being able to finish in the top ten, it was a big shock … But I don’t want to criticize anymore, better to be united in an important weekend like this“.
The goal is clear for the Catalan driver residing in Andorra. “Finishing in the top 3 of the championship would be a historic result, let’s stay positive and then we’ll see on Monday“. As early as next week, it will be time to focus only on the 2023 bike over the course of Irta test scheduled for November 8 at the Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
