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Alex Espargaro’s ‘big ego’ almost stopped him from joining the Aprilia MotoGP team.


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Alex Espargaro initially had no desire to join Aprilia, but after seeing the reality of the situation with Suzuki, he knew he had to do something.

After a tough 2024 season, Alex Espargaro He decided to quit MotoGP and become a test driver Honda.

Few remember how good Espargaro was at the height of his power, especially after joining. Aprilia In 2017

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While Espargaro certainly found the Aprilia bike challenging.His eight years with the team proved to be the defining moment of his life.

However, according to Alex EspargaroWhen he first decided to move to Aprilia, he didn’t want to make the jump.

Read more: Alex Espargaro has named Phillip Island as ‘dangerous’ as he backs Adelaide’s street circuit.

Spain's Alex Espargaro and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini celebrate the victory of the independent team at the end of the MotoGP race at the MotoGP of Aragon - Race at the Motorland Aragon circuit on September 24, 2017 in Alcaniz, Spain.
Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

Aleix Espargaro has revealed that he initially rejected Aprian because of his ‘big ego’.

talk with In the Gans boxAleix Espargaro said he did not want to join Aprilia when he was first offered the chance because of his big ego as a young rider.

He revealed that his experience with Suzuki, one of the biggest teams in MotoGP at the time, made him consider Apria as a rider, even after Suzuki decided not to hire him.

“It’s a funny story because I was racing for Suzuki… I felt at that time, I didn’t win a race, but as a rider, you have a big ego.

“I felt like I was on top of the world. I was a Suzuki rider with a big contract and great sponsors. Then all of a sudden, BOOM! Suzuki decided to change riders.

“Aprilia called me.[Thinking]’I can’t go to Aprilia. They’re going to end up on the grid!’ So for a month or two I was saying, ‘No, I don’t care about the offer, Apriya, it’s not coming.’

Read more: Aleix Espargaro says Dani Pedrosa’s weight makes him ‘impossible’ to keep upright.

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Ducati rider Marc Marquez speaks with KTM's Pedro Acosta after the Buriram sprint race at the 2026 MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix.
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Aleix Espargaro said that he had to convince the manager to accept the Aprilia challenge

Espargaro explained that it was his agent who told him he would not get a better offer from Aprilia.

“And after a month or two, my manager said to me, ‘Alex, I think this is the best offer you’ve ever made. You should really think about going to Aprilia.’

“Then I started talking to them and I said to myself: ‘Okay, this is the biggest challenge of your life. You have to prove to everyone that you’re not going to retire.’

“Because I remember reading a lot of things that said the end of your career would be one or two seasons, and then you’d be home. ‘Okay, I’ll show you what I can do,'” I said.

Finally, Espargaro’s move to Apria was the best of his career as he made a home with the team and found success at various points.

Espargaro has won each of his three career Grands Prix, along with 10 of his 12 career podiums.





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