THE LAST DANCE FOR ESPARGARÓ AND VIÑALES WITH APRILIA RACING IN THEIR HOME RACE
12 November 2024 - Aprilia Racing is gearing up for the final round of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which will also be the last race for Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales with Aprilia Racing. It will be a special GP on a home track for the riders, which marks a farewell to the manufacturer from Noale for two important protagonists. This Grand Prix will also be highly significant, since it will be the Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona, held as a sign of solidarity with the Valencia Community for all those affected by the flooding.
https://www.circuitcat.com/en/
Aleix Espargaró is headed back to his home track for what will be his final race before retiring. In May, precisely in Montmeló, during an emotional press conference, Espargaró had announced his intention to end his career at the end of the season.
On that occasion, he took pole position, the track record and victory in the sprint race. Determined to end this season and his MotoGP career in the best way possible, Espargaró is aiming for an important result to honour his fans and the manufacturer from Noale, with which he has ridden 142 races so far, winning 3 Grand Prix, 2 sprint races and taking 15 podiums and 5 pole positions.
The Barcelona race represents a significant moment for Maverick Viñales as well. In 2023 at the Montmeló circuit, Viñales took third place in the sprint race and second place in the long race with Aprilia Racing.
After three and a half years, the Spanish rider is approaching the end of his time with the Noale-based manufacturer and his goal is to finish with a prestigious result as a sign of gratitude to the team and his home fans. Together with Aprilia, Viñales has ridden 64 races so far, winning one Grand Prix and two sprints in 2024, achieving a total of 13 podiums and 2 pole positions.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ, #41: “Barcelona is my home track. I like it a lot and it suits both me and the Aprilia well. We have achieved fantastic results here. We won three of the last four races and we also hold the track record.
These are all signs which indicate that we can battle to stay out front. I would very much like to finish my last race with Aprilia competitively, with sights set on the podium. I’ll try to stay fully focused from the very first session and we’ll do our best to take home a good result.”
MAVERICK VIÑALES, #12: "Montmeló is a track I love to race on, it's very close to home and it's my home GP. When I'm there I'm always very motivated. The weather will be unpredictable, with low temperatures.
It will be a very special weekend: we'll be racing for Valencia, and it will also be my last race with Aprilia, so I'll give it my all.”
APRILIA:
https://www.aprilia.com/en_EN/
