MotoGP Silverstone: ‘The impact was quite huge!” - Espargaro

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro completed a heroic ninth place finish in Sunday’s BritishGP, just a day after fracturing his right heel in an FP4 highside.

While the full extent of the Spaniard’s injuries were not diagnosed until Monday, Espargaro was visibly in a lot of pain throughout both qualifying and the race - with assistance needed on Saturday afternoon to allow him to walk.

Riding through the pain barrier, he launched from sixth on the grid before completing the 20-lap race around the longest circuit on the calendar in ninth position, just one back from MotoGP Championship rival Fabio Quartararo. When asked if he would have taken that result in the aftermath of his 115mph off, he was quick to agree.

“When I was on the tarmac, lying? Yes, because I felt a lot of pain on my feet, a lot of energy,” Espargaro admitted. “I thought I destroy both ankles, after the qualifying, after the adrenaline [faded], I couldn’t even walk. But it’s fair to say that I improved quite a lot during the night.

“The doctor did a really good job and today, it was not an excuse for ninth place, the pain.

“Obviously I was not riding comfortable,” he continued. “I couldn’t move really free on the bike and I lose a lot of time in the corner where I crash yesterday. But overall, I’m satisfied because I didn’t lose any points in terms of championship fight. So it’s okay.”

While the pain and injury certainly impacted his race, Espargaro was still convinced there was more to make of the Silverstone battle.

“I didn’t really feel competitive during the race and it’s a shame because I show a good speed during all the weekend and I don’t know why it didn’t have traction on the right corners,” he explained. “It’s true that also I was not able, really to