Aleix Espargaro: "I would like to be remembered as..."

Aleix Espargaro says he wants his MotoGP career to be remembered by the fact “that hard work beats talent”, following his retirement.

The 35-year-old called time on his MotoGP career at the conclusion of last week’s 2024 season finale at home in Barcelona having made his debut in the world championship in 2004.

Espargaro made his MotoGP debut in 2010 with Pramac, before becoming a permanent fixture from the 2012 season, riding for the likes of Aspar, Forward Racing, Suzuki and finally Aprilia during this tenure.

It was with Aprilia where Espargaro found the most success, scoring a maiden grand prix victory in 2022 in Argentina before scoring two more in 2023.

Asked by Crash.net after he finished a fighting fifth in his last race how he would like to be remembered, Espargaro replied: “There is a sentence that many people use, that hard work beats talent.

“And I truly believe that this is true. I always felt during my career that I had less talent than many of my mates.

“But by working very hard, putting in all the effort, using all the resources of my team, all the people around, having a good team around me, being smart, working hard definitely, you can do what you want.

“I would like to be remembered as one who never gave up.”

Espargaro could still race in 2025 as a wildcard as part of his testing duties with Honda, though said after the Solidarity GP that it wasn’t something he was planning at this stage.

On his emotions after his last race, Espargaro added: “I have really low tension - after the chequered flag I had a big relief.

“Obviously, I will miss a lot Aprilia and my RS-GP a lot. But I didn’t want to race anymore.

“So, I have a big relief. I’m very happy, very proud of this little kid when I arrived, what I’ve achieved, the family that I make.

“I think there is a new chapter in life. Enough is enough.

“I think in life it’s very important to understand the timings and I’m very lucky to be able to say goodbye like this.”