Aleix Espargaró

Career

Espargaró was born in Granollers, Spain, and is the older brother of fellow MotoGP rider Pol Espargaro. In 2004, he won the Spanish FIM CEV International Championship 125cc class with one win, two podiums at Circuito del Jarama, and 88 total points. He moved to the 250cc class of Grand Prix racing mid-season in 2006, taking Martin Cardenas' spot after Sebastian Porto ended his career. For a subsequent season, a deal with the Italian Campetella Racing team fell through, leaving him without a permanent ride, though he made two substitute appearances at Assen and Sachsenring for the Balatonring Team and also acted as a Moto2 development rider.

On 19 August 2009, it was announced he would race for Pramac Racing in MotoGP at Indianapolis and Misano, replacing Mika Kallio, who replaced Casey Stoner at the Ducati works team. On 6 October 2009, he signed an agreement with Pramac Ducati for the 2010 MotoGP Championship, replacing Niccolò Canepa; he also replaced the injured Canepa for the last two races of the 2009 season in Sepang and Valencia. In 2010, he remained with the same team alongside Mika Kallio; during the German GP he sustained a fracture of the vertebra and a small cut on the knee in an incident with Álvaro Bautista and Randy de Puniet, and his best results were two eighth places at Italy and Australia, ending the season 14th with 65 points.

Return to MotoGP

In 2011, he moved to Moto2 with the Pons HP40 team alongside Axel Pons, earning a podium in Catalunya and finishing 12th with 76 points. He returned to MotoGP with Randy De Puniet as teammate, achieving a best result of eighth in Malaysia and ending the season 12th with 74 points, the highest-placed CRT rider for 2012. In 2013, he remained on the same team, obtaining a best result of eighth place at Italy, Catalonia, Netherlands, and Germany, finishing 11th with 93 points, again the highest-placed CRT rider.

His breakthrough came in the MotoGP season with Forward Yamaha, finishing seventh in the championship with a highlight of second place in Aragon, earning him a move to the factory Suzuki team in 2015. In 2017, he switched to Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.

Personal life

Espargaró's younger brother Pol is also a Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently a reserve test rider for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in MotoGP; they competed alongside each other in Moto2 and both have been in MotoGP since 2014. Espargaró married Laura Montero on August 23, 2014, in Barcelona after dating for about eight years; the couple had twins in 2018: daughter Mia and son Max. He is a fan of FC Barcelona and its former player Bojan, whom he met at the Gran Premi De Catalunya in 2012, and is noted as a fan of Japanese cuisine, owning restaurants in Andorra.

Did You Know?

• He scored his first MotoGP podium with a second-place finish at the Aragon GP in 2014 riding for Forward Yamaha.
• In 2022, he won the Argentine Republic Grand Prix from pole position, giving Aprilia its first MotoGP win and marking his first win in any Grand Prix class.
• He announced his retirement from full-time Grand Prix racing on 23 May 2024 at the Catalan Grand Prix, then won the sprint race that same weekend.