Ahead Of Thailand's MotoGP, Aleix Espargaro Gave A Warning For Aprilia For Not Wanting To Throw Away Another Chance

Aprilia Racing racer Aleix Espargaro. (Doc. MotoGP official website)

JAKARTA - Aprilia Racing racer Aleix Espargaro gave his team a warning. He didn't want mistakes in Japan's MotoGP race, last weekend, not to be repeated in Thailand, this weekend.

In the race at the Motegi Circuit, Espargaro had to start the race from the pit even though he was qualifying for sixth place.

It was due to electronic problems with his motorbike after warming up. The motorbike was stuck in "eco" mode because the Aprilia mechanics forgot to turn off the "engine mapping" mode which saves fuel.

With a motorbike that can't go fast, Espargaro must return to the garage, switch to spare motorbikes, and start from the pit lane.

In the end, he finished in position 16, outside the points zone, because the two motorbikes were not equipped with tires that matched the track conditions.

"I was angry after the race, not just because of the mistake but how the race went," said Espargaro, as reported by Antara.

"It's very strange because the number one and second riders in the standings only fight for eighth. Fabio and Pecco are very fast on each circuit and are quite surprising to see them fight for eighth place. It's a good opportunity to reap a number of points," said Espargaro in an official MotoGP statement.

In Tokyo, Espargaro has spoken to his team and ensured mistakes in Motegi will not happen again.

"We used the error to analyze everything, try not to make mistakes, try to improve procedures and see where we can get better," said the Spaniard.

"The problem doesn't look that simple, so all of my teams were very disappointed and I tried to tell them, 'it's a human fault, it can happen at any time, and it's a race,' so I've forgotten that and was very positive for the following weekend."

25 points from Quartararo and seven points from Bagnaia, Espargaro views the world title race as wide open with four races remaining.

"But, 25 points is not much. The current MotoGP level is very high. In the past, the leader of the standings during a bad day, could finish second, third or fourth."

"Now, if you have a bad day, you can finish outside the top 10. So, everything is still open and I still believe in the options I have," concluded Espargaro.