Ducati had promised Jorge Martin the place as Pecco Bagnaia’s teammate in the official team with a handshake, but changed its mind and kept the Spaniard in check for the entire weekend of the Italian GP. Even in parc fermé, where the Prima Pramac Racing rider received congratulations from Claudio Domenicali, CEO of the brand.
On Sunday evening, when Martin realized that the Ducati managers had not kept their word, the Spaniard collapsed, falling into despair as he saw that, once again, everything he had worked for in recent years was going up in smoke.
At that moment, his entourage and family played a decisive role in preventing the pilot from falling into depression. One of the people who spoke with Jorge that Sunday afternoon was Aleix Espargaró, his good friend and training partner, the one who welcomed him into his home as a child when he went to work with the “grown-ups”. But not only that, Aleix activated negotiations with Massimo Rivola, CEO of the team, and convinced the parties to get to work to reach an agreement.
After announcing in Barcelona, just over a fortnight ago, that he would retire at the end of the season, Aleix didn’t think he could find a better figure to “hand over” his bike to.
“Jorge was very sad for what Ducati did to him, but now he is happy and enthusiastic,” said Espargaró this weekend at the Aprilia All Stars, an event that brought together all the fans of the Noale manufacturer last weekend in Misano.
Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia Racing Team, meets with Jorge Martín to announce his retirement
Photo de: MotoGP
“I love both Jorge and Aprilia, I love them both. For me it’s a dream that my Aprilia #41, and all my guys in the garage, will be with Jorge next year, it’s something that makes me very happy , both for him and for the team”, explained Aleix in a conversation with GPone.com.
Aleix knows that Jorge’s departure from Ducati was a hard blow for him, but he believes that after the announcement of his move to Aprilia the Spaniard has found his motivation again.
“He was very sad, but I’m sure that in Aprilia he will find what he needs, he will be an idol without a doubt, what he deserves. The truth is that I saw him very happy and excited”, he explains.
But before Martin takes over the garage, Aleix still has a dozen Grands Prix ahead of him as “captain” of the Noale manufacturer.
“I’m very focused, I’d like to greet Aprilia with a good victory, it would be fantastic. I’ll try, there will be important circuits for us: Assen will be good, then Silverstone will come which is good. Our bike is good, but in the last few races it hasn’t we managed to be at the level we expected. A lot has happened, but the truth is that there is more than half the season left and I hope to win again”, said the Granollers driver.
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