Aleix Espargaró arrived at the British GP with recharged batteries after a long summer for the MotoGP World Championship members. I wanted to take advantage of the suspension of Championship leader Fabio Quartararo and Aprilia’s good moment to continue taking points from the Frenchman. However, a hard fall in the last practice session on Saturday threw a spanner in the works. What seemed like a major shock turned into a major setback for his title attack plan this Monday: broken right heel and seven days of absolute rest without even being able to even support the leg.
The new diagnosis came this afternoon after a thorough examination at the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona. On both Saturday and Sunday, the Granollers rider put in a commendable performance to save the furniture and stay within reach of the reigning world champion. Unable to walk alone and barely an hour after being shot down at 170 km/h and hitting the tarmac violently, Aleix managed to break the previous course record during the qualifying round. His performance earned him sixth place on the grid and he ended the day with applause from the team’s mechanics upon arrival in the pits. The next day, with a lot of cool blood and a good dose of anti-inflammatories, he managed to finish the race in ninth place, just behind Quartararo. “Now I feel pain everywhere. Feet are better than on Saturday, I can walk. But I have a lot of pain in my legs, in my neck, in my back,” he said at the end of the race. “I think we’re going to have very close races in the last eight races on the way to the championship.”
Aleix Espargaró is joined by members of his team at last weekend’s British Grand Prix.AFP7 via Europa Press (AFP7 via Europa Press)
Despite the bad news, the fact that the tournament’s second-placed team – 22 points behind the leaders – is positive that he does not need an operation to heal his injured foot. In order not to support this, you have to use crutches throughout the week. After being left on a stretcher after his crash in FP4, the result is the best in a complicated scenario at this stage of the Championship. His efforts during a race where he seemed to have the pace to win before the crash allowed him to remain the only rider to finish in the points in the twelve races that year. “It’s a shame because I couldn’t overtake, I couldn’t be aggressive, I couldn’t make up any positions,” analyzed the Catalan, who was very ambitious despite the circumstances. On the last lap he even threw the bike to Quartararo to scratch him another notch in the standings: “It wasn’t about points, it was about finishing up front. I tried, but unfortunately I missed a good opportunity to catch up today.”
Espargaró’s goal is to reach the Austrian GP on August 21 in the best physical condition possible. He will try, if his body allows, to stay hooked on the fight for a title that nobody could have imagined a year ago today when he himself gave Aprilia their first podium since the brand’s return to the premier class in 2015 .
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