The state of happiness has been installed this season in the Aprilia box And it looks like it will be that way for a long time. One of those who enjoys it well is Antonio Jiménez, the technical boss of Aleix Espargaró and a happy man for the renewal of his pilot for two more years.
-I imagine that happy with the renewal of Aleix with Aprilia for two years. One of the fairest in history?
-The answer is in the question. She deserved it. Maybe they made him wait a bit too long, because after the first victory with pole position and the podiums there should be no doubts. It was not a coincidence but a reality. This is respect for all the work he has done at Aprilia for years and it is a deserved renewal, so that he can finish his career here and an adventure that he started six years ago. It will be the best memory he has of his sports career.
– Did you ever worry about the possibility that he would stay at home, without running?
-For me it was a concern, the truth. I have been here for many years and, if I have to finish my sporting career as a technician, I prefer to finish it with Aprilia and with Aleix, because it has been four years of intense work and with a great reward. I want to continue as far as possible. Sure it won’t be easy, but now we have a great opportunity. Aleix can continue to contribute a lot, because with the creation of the satellite team, he will continue to contribute and I would like to contribute as well.
-Can you enumerate the list of pilots with whom you have worked and what Aleix brings you that others did not?
-Since 1989 there are many riders… Aspar, Cadalora, Kocinski, Crivillé, Checa, Barros, Biaggi, Aoyama, Bautista, Vierge and many more. Aleix is probably the rider who gives you the most confidence, because he trusts his team a lot and especially me. There are many things that I don’t need to explain to him and we understand each other without speaking or with a simple thirty-second comment. The next day I refresh it in another thirty seconds and he trusts it and everything works fine. We have a system in which everything works well and I love it and it gives me a lot of confidence that the rider believes so much in our work and in our team, because I see him as super calm and super relaxed. The guy trusts, and this is very important.
-How worrying is the loss of concessions for next year due to the good results this year?
-If we were fast now, but with reliability problems, it would be a big problem, but we showed that we are fast, solid and reliable. I don’t think there is much concern.
-How much good is it for you that there is a satellite team?
-Man, it is what we have not had during all these years and perhaps what has made Aleix take longer to get to the front. It is information from other drivers, from another team and from other people. This is what Ducati and other teams did, gather information to make a better and more durable bike over time. Now we have a good bike, but with a test team and another satellite we will be even better.
-Do you feel in the fight for the World Cup with Aleix?
-I dream about it, the truth is that yes. Why not? Today we went out again and we were ahead. As long as he keeps a cool head and this attitude that he has, which is impeccable, why not? But we are going to go, as Cholo Simeone says, match by match. This one is difficult, because we play it at home, and next week’s, too, because it’s in Montmeló. We’ll see. Here it is a nice challenge, because there is a very long straight, like in Montmeló, and top speed is super important. Hopefully it will be a dry race and we will also see our potential on the straight, at more than 350 per hour and compare ourselves with the Ducati.