interesting statements from Aleix Espargaro to journalists after finishing eighth in the sprint at the French GP.
-Sprint sensations?
-I am really satisfied with my career. I have been competitive, I have risked a lot because with this magnificent schedule right now it is difficult to test the tyres, so I had to go out with the hard front tire without having been able to test it, it was a bit risky in the first few laps, but then I’ve been competitive, I’m happy. When I was catching up with the group in front, because I was faster than them with Marco (Bezzecchi) we had a bit of a battle there and we lost a bit of time. Then Álex (Márquez) also took me off the track, so there was a bit of everything today. But the pace has been good, so I think that if I start well tomorrow we can fight for the podium because the pace has been there.
-How was the incident with Alex Márquez?
-I don’t know, I was drawing in the middle of the 7-8, the double, and I noticed a big contact. He passed on the inside, he obviously noticed, because he raised his hand, he could see himself from the Maverick onboard and apologized to me, and at the end of the straight I passed clean on the inside braking, which is how I advance always. And he is already.
-Luca Marini is on fire with Binder because he has taken him off track. He says that what was discussed yesterday, in the end, is of no use …
-I already said it on Thursday. I don’t like being the ‘I already said it’, I’m not cool, nothing. But the thing is… How many actions have we seen today that are the same as the ones we saw in Jerez? Many. Has the penalty been the same as that of Jerez, or not? No. Period. I have said it before in English and now I say it in Spanish: don’t ask me any more, please, in the remainder of the season about the stewards (commissioners). It is a way of speaking, you can do it, you are within your rights. But it is better that we dedicate ourselves, for the mental health of all the drivers and for the tension between us, to racing and doing the maximum, and for them to do what they think. Because it is a sterile debate, we have tried everything, we have cracked, we have not cracked, we have tried to meet, help, add, and you have seen everything that happens. So Hakuna Matata. We are going to give it full throttle and try to do the best we can. I will continue to be a clean driver, overtaking cleanly, and there are drivers who overtake each week by crashing. From here they do what they can. I hope the stewards do the best they can.
-One thing that Luca has let us understand is that KTM is favored by the referees.
-I think that it does not go with the brands, that it goes with the pilots. Every week the same drivers overtake in the same way, which is four.
-What are they?
-(Laughs). There are four or five and I don’t think it has to do with the brands. I don’t know, I don’t want to think about such a black hand.
-Thinking about tomorrow, how has this ‘FP4’ gone?
-You are laughing. I started the first official session with a tire with 10 laps in front, and in the third lap, which was the 13th with that tyre, I did 31.5. I have entered and I have said: ‘Now I’ll bust them, I’ll take the pole with one hand with the new tire’. I put it because I had no more. I think he could have taken pole position, he had very good pace and was fighting to win. So, when everything was destroyed by my mistake, and only by my mistake in the crash, on the grid I told my boys: ‘We’ve lost it, here there are almost no points at stake. We are going to try to get oil out of this session, we ride the H in front. Tomorrow someone will surely have to try it on the grid if it ends up having the temperature that seems to be going to be, so it will be something that we will have won’. And now we have data to work with for tomorrow, the pressure, the temperature of the tyre. This has nothing to do with Jerez, the braking is different, it’s not that hot, the asphalt is another story, so I think we can have an advantage for tomorrow’s race.
