MotoGP Austin: ‘I love the challenge, the title dream is there’ - Espargaro

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro arrived in Austin a MotoGP winner and leading the 2022 championship standings.

Both are dreams Espargaro has held onto for a long time, 20 years in fact. But while the celebrations were definitely in full flow on Sunday night, a week is long time in world championship racing and the focus has already switched to a new venue and the next race.

“Sounds good. Sounds good. Still strange for me to hear that but I’m very, very happy,” Espargaro said of his recent success. “Have to say that these last days has been fantastic. I feel happy but at the same time relaxed, you know, because I have the confidence that I didn’t have in the past. So in the past I dreamed that I could win, now I know that I can.

“It’s not going to be an easy weekend for me because last year we suffered a lot in this track, was one of the most difficult of the championship but this year is different because we have new asphalt, the bumps will be a lot better,” he continued from the Circuit of the Americas. “The ‘22 machine is a lot better than last year and we arrive in a completely different position. So I can’t wait to go out on track and see how fast I can go.”

Aprilia’s 2022 rise has been coming since the beginning of preseason.

“I have no doubt that it’s going to be completely different. I mean, I was very happy to win in Argentina but the thing that makes me more happy is that we show in the three first rounds that we are very competitive, that I feel good with the new bike, that the new bike is a lot better. The proof was that I was also able to overtake Jorge [Martin] with the Ducati in the straight so it means that overall the Aprilia grows up a lot and this gives me a lot of positive energy for this America round.

“I