Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia had a heartbreaking mishap at Sunday’s Catalunya MotoGP, when his blunder forced him to fall from first to fifth place with the video viral
On Sunday, Aleix Espargaro squandered his podium position after believing the MotoGP race had ended one lap too early.
Aleix Espargaro Loses Podium Finish After Stopping One Lap Early At The Catalunya GP, Error Video Viral
A mistake we've seen before and one we'll surely see again ๐@AleixEspargaro's incredible weekend at his home GP fell victim to human error ๐ข#CatalanGP ๐ pic.twitter.com/vVpK3qWJAx
— MotoGPโข๐ (@MotoGP) June 5, 2022
The Spaniard had been in second place in his home event, the Catalan Motorcycle Grand Prix in Barcelona, behind title challenger Fabio Quartararo. Espargaro, though, mistook the race to be over with one lap remaining and began waving to the audience in excitement at what he thought was a podium finish.
He had been passed by three other riders and slipped to sixth by the time he realised his mistake and finished the race.
After the race, Espargaro was spotted in tears as he returned to the garage, having allowed Quartararo to expand his championship lead even further.
The 32-year-old rider received an inaccurate message while on track, believing his pit wallboard had indicated the incorrect number of remaining laps, according to race commentators.
Despite his fifth-place finish on Sunday, the Aprilia rider has been the surprise package of the 2022 season so far, and is now just one point behind his greatest ever MotoGP points tally.
He is still second in the riders’ standings behind Quartararo, even though the distance between them has risen to 22 points. He was anticipated to finish the season near the bottom of the standings.
Despite Aprilia’s reputation for having some of the worst bikes in MotoGP, Espargaro has five podium finishes to his credit, including a race win in Argentina in April.
What Aleix Espargaro Said?
“In MotoGP, it’s an unacceptable mistake,” Espargarรณ added. “I looked at the sign and forgot that at the bottom it should state L0 (for Lap 0) rather than L1 (for Lap 1).” “I was entirely to blame.”
Espargarรณ, 32, came to a halt after crossing the finish line on the final lap and appeared despondent. For a while, he sat on his bike, his head down and his hands on his helmet.
He stormed into the back of his team’s garage, crying, while crew members and relatives attempted to calm him. Jorge Martin came in second and Johann Zarco came in third to round out the podium.
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