MotoGP | Aleix retires: “A nice journey, proud of where I arrived”

The home race always has a special flavour, but for Aleix Espargaro the Catalan Grand Prix is ​​even more special. Precisely on the track where he grew up (both physically and professionally), he has decided to say enough and announce his retirement at the end of this season. A difficult choice, that of the Granollers rider, who felt competitive and has one of the best performing bikes on the entire grid. Head and heart: a dilemma that marked Espargaro’s entire career and which continued to be a constant even in the last, definitive decision. His head said to continue, his heart to stop. He won the latter and at the end of 2024 Aleix will close a twenty-year chapter in his life.

“At the end of this season I will retire from MotoGP as a starting rider.” This is how he made his debut in the special press conference held in Barcelona on the Thursday of the Catalan Grand Prix. “It was a great trip, I had a lot of fun and I thank everyone. It’s a very special place for me, it’s the circuit where I grew up, where I started racing motorbikes and where, above all, last year I made a dream come true. This was the perfect place to say that I have decided to leave motorbikes as a full-time MotoGP rider.”

Leave, yes, but not permanently. The motorbike runs in his veins and the desire to get on the saddle is always great. For this reason Aleix revealed that he will appear in MotoGP, but without the commitment that many roles beyond the rider require: “You will see me, but 70% of the time I will be released. Head of the pilots commission? I thought about it, but ultimately decided against it. If I have to continue to be so attached to this world, then I will continue to ride a motorbike! But I want to enjoy life, stay at home with my family.”

Aleix Espargaro hangs up his helmet after a long career, often complicated and full of obstacles, but in which he has achieved various satisfactions: “Mine has been a very strange career, I think that nothing is easy and no one gives anything away in any job . But my path has been extremely strange, not even I would have imagined that at thirty years old I would be able to win races and achieve podiums with a brand that had never done it, so I am very happy and proud of where I have arrived. I’m sure that child who made his debut here many years ago would be happy.”

“I have made many mistakes in my life for always choosing with my heart and not with my head, but that’s how I am,” said the Catalan, who will always remain grateful to Aprilia. “My head tells me that I can continue, that I’m still going fast, with riders who are the best in history. I feel competitive and physically good. But my heart tells me to spend more time at home, watch my children grow, be with my wife… That’s why I decided to stop and enjoy life. In these last few years I have achieved more than I dreamed of in my entire life. I almost retired in 2018 and 2019 with a podium. In recent years I have won three races, I have achieved about ten podiums… I don’t have to prove anything to anyone and I decided to say enough when I could continue.”

An important chapter will end in Valencia not only for Aleix Espargaro, but also for Aprilia. “The captain” was one of the drivers who mainly believed in the project and led the team towards success. The gratitude from the Granollers rider is enormous: “I would like to thank Aprilia because these last three years have been a dream. Since I arrived here we have made history. We had so much fun, I will be eternally grateful for what they gave me and what I gave them.”

“I also want to thank Carmelo and Carlos Ezpeleta, I grew up here, this place was my school, my garden… It’s the same for my children too. I thank my family, it all started with them, thanks to my brother, who has always been my reference. To all my personal team, Albert Valera… Without him my career would not have been the same, now he is a pillar of my life, the best thing I have. To all the riders in the paddock, thank you! I tried to do the best I could and I’m very happy, thank you,” he concluded.