# Aleix Espargaró

Aleix Espargaró Villà (Catalan pronunciation:; born 30 July 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was the Spanish 2004 FIM CEV 125cc International Champion and has competed since 2017 in the MotoGP class using Aprilia machines; however, he is due to retire from Grand Prix racing at the end of the 2024 season.

## Career

Espargaró was born in Granollers, Spain. Aleix is the older brother of fellow MotoGP rider Pol Espargaro. Espargaró had his breakthrough in the 2014 MotoGP season with Forward Yamaha finishing 7th in the championship with the highlight being a 2nd-place finish in Aragon. This earned him a move to the factory Suzuki team in 2015. In 2017 he switched to Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.

### 125cc International Championship

In 2004, he won the Spanish FIM CEV International Championship 125 cc class with one win, two podiums at Circuito del Jarama and 88 total points.

### 250cc World Championship

In 2006, Espargaró moved to the 250cc class of Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championship racing mid-season, from the 125cc class. After Sebastian Porto ended his career, Martin Cardenas replaced Porto, and Espargaró took Cardenas' spot.

### MotoGP World Championship

For 2009, Espargaró was offered a deal with the Italian Campetella Racing team but they withdrew, leaving him without a permanent ride, but had two substitute appearances at Assen and Sachsenring for the Balatonring Team. He also acted as a Moto2 development rider.

#### Pramac Racing (2009–2010)

On 19 August 2009, it was announced Espargaró would race for Pramac Racing in MotoGP in Indianapolis and Misano. He replaced Mika Kallio, who in turn replaced Casey Stoner at the Ducati works team.
On 6 October 2009, it was announced that Espargaró had signed an agreement with Pramac Ducati to race in the 2010 MotoGP Championship. He replaced Niccolò Canepa in the team. He also replaced the injured Canepa for the last two races of the 2009 season in Sepang and Valencia.
In 2010 he remained in the same team with Mika Kallio as his teammate. During the German GP Espargaró was involved in an incident with Álvaro Bautista and Randy de Puniet where he sustained a fracture of the vertebra and a small cut on the knee. His best result was two eighth places at Italy and Australia. He ended the season in 14th place with 65 points.

### Moto2 World Championship
#### Pons HP40 (2011)

In 2011 he moved to Moto2 with the Pons HP40 team, his teammate was Axel Pons. He got a podium in Catalunya and ended the season in 12th place with 76 points.

### Return to MotoGP
#### Power Electronics Aspar (2012–2013)

Espargaro returned to the MotoGP class, his teammate was Randy De Puniet . His best result was an eighth place in Malaysia and ended the season in 12th place with 74 points, making him the highest-placed CRT rider for the 2012 Season.
In 2013 he remained on the same team. He obtained a best result of eighth place achieved at Italy, Catalonia, Netherlands and Germany and finished the season in 11th place with 93 points, once again the highest-placed CRT rider.

#### NGM Forward Racing (2014)

In 2014 he moved to the Forward Racing team riding a Yamaha Forward with CRT specifications His teammate was Colin Edwards. He scored his first podium in MotoGP finishing second at the Aragon GP. He ended the season in 7th place with 126 points, making him the best of the riders equipped with CRT bikes for the third time in a row. He recorded his first-ever pole position at the Dutch TT at Assen, coming in his 150th Grand Prix weekend.

#### Team Suzuki Ecstar (2015–2016)

In 2015, after dominating the Open Class – previously known as CRT – he signed for the Suzuki works team to ride their new GSX-RR from 2015. His teammate was Maverick Viñales. He managed to get the second pole position of his career at the Catalonian GP, making it Suzuki's first pole since 2007. He ended the season in eleventh place with 105 points.
In 2016 he remained in the same team, achieving fourth place in Japan as his best result and finishing the season in 11th place with 93 points.

#### Aprilia Racing (2017–2024)

In 2017 he switched to Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, his teammate was Sam Lowes. He got two sixth places as his best result at Qatar and Aragon, ending the season in 15th place with 62 points. He was forced to miss the Malaysian Grand Prix due to a fracture of his left arm in the previous Grand Prix.
In 2018 his teammate was Scott Redding. His best result was a sixth place in Aragon and ended the season in 17th place with 44 points. He was forced to miss the German Grand Prix due to an injury sustained in warm up.
In 2019 his teammate was Andrea Iannone. His best result was a seventh place in Aragon and he finished the season in 14th place with 63 points.
In 2020 he remained with Aprilia. His best result was an eighth place in Portugal, and he ended the season in 17th place, with 42 points.
For the 2021 season, Espargaró remained with Aprilia, and his teammate at the beginning of the season was Lorenzo Savadori. The Aprilia bike immediately proved to be much more competitive, so much so that Espargaró was able to finish frequently in the top ten. In particular, at Silverstone, after starting from the second row, he finished the race in third position, giving Aprilia their first podium in MotoGP. This was Espargaró's career second podium in MotoGP, after Aragon in 2014, a wait of almost 7 years. His teammate from the Aragon race and on, was Yamaha outcast Maverick Vinales for the rest of the season.
In the third round of the 2022 campaign, Espargaró won the Argentine Republic Grand Prix from pole position. This was his first win in any class in Grand Prix motorcycling, and also Aprilia's first MotoGP win. For the rest of the season, Espargaró would remain a championship contender until the Malaysian Grand Prix, nevertheless finishing the season 4th, his highest in the premier class.
On 26 May 2022, Espargaró signed a contract extension with the team for 2023 and 2024, still teaming up with Maverick Viñales.
In the first rounds of 2023, Espargaró struggled with form, but achieved race wins at Silverstone and Barcelona. He led teammate Maverick Viñales to the first ever 1-2 finish for the factory Aprilia team in MotoGP in the latter. These results elevated Espargaró to 5th in the rider standings. However, during the last rounds of 2023, Espargaró and Aprilia were mediocre in form, with him suffering a fractured left fibula during the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix after a crash with Miguel Oliveira. Espargaró ended the year in 6th, 2 points ahead of his teammate.

#### Retirement from motorcycle racing

On 23 May 2024 at the Barcelona-Catalunya motorcycle grand prix gathering, Espargaro held a press conference where he announced he would officially retire from regular competition at the end of the 2024 season.

#### Honda HRC test rider (2025–)

On 2 July 2024, Espargaró and Honda announced he would be joining the Japanese manufacturer as a test rider from the 2025 season.

## Career statistics
### FIM CEV International Championship
#### Races by year

(key)
| Year | Class | Bike | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos | Pts |
| 2003 | 125cc | Honda | R.A.C.C | CAT 12 | JAR 6 | ALB1 Ret | JER1 11 | ALB2 7 | VAL 16 | JER2 11 | 11th | 33 |
| 2004 | 125cc | Honda | R.A.C.C | CAT 7 | JAR 1 | ALB1 3 | JER1 4 | ALB2 12 | VAL 8 | JER2 11 | 1st | 88 |

### Grand Prix motorcycle racing
#### By season

| Season | Class | Motorcycle | Team | Race | Win | Podium | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd |
| 2004 | 125cc | Honda | Racc Caja Madrid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2005 | 125cc | Honda | Seedorf RC3 – Tiempo Holidays | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 16th |
| 2006 | 125cc | Honda | Wurth Honda BQR | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2006 | 250cc | Honda | Wurth Honda BQR | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 19th |
| 2007 | 250cc | Aprilia | Blusens Aprilia | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 15th |
| 2008 | 250cc | Aprilia | Lotus Aprilia | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 12th |
| 2009 | 250cc | Aprilia | Balatonring Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 20th |
| 2009 | MotoGP | Ducati | Pramac Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 18th |
| 2010 | MotoGP | Ducati | Pramac Racing | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 14th |
| 2011 | Moto2 | Pons Kalex | Pons HP40 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 12th |
| 2012 | MotoGP | ART | Power Electronics Aspar | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 12th |
| 2013 | MotoGP | ART | Power Electronics Aspar | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 11th |
| 2014 | MotoGP | Forward Yamaha | NGM Forward Racing | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 126 | 7th |
| 2015 | MotoGP | Suzuki | Team Suzuki Ecstar | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 105 | 11th |
| 2016 | MotoGP | Suzuki | Team Suzuki Ecstar | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 11th |
| 2017 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 15th |
| 2018 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 17th |
| 2019 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 14th |
| 2020 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 17th |
| 2021 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 8th |
| 2022 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing | 20 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 212 | 4th |
| 2023 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing | 20 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 206 | 6th |
| 2024 | MotoGP | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 163 | 11th |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 339 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 1777 | |

#### By class

| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st Pod | 1st Win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
| 125cc | 2004–2006 | 2004 Valencia | | | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| 250cc | 2006–2009 | 2006 Netherlands | | | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 181 | 0 |
| Moto2 | 2011 | 2011 Qatar | 2011 Catalunya | | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 0 |
| MotoGP | 2009–2010, 2012–present | 2009 Indianapolis | 2014 Aragon | 2022 Argentina | 255 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 1484 | 0 |
| Total | 2004–present | 2004–present | 2004–present | 2004–present | 339 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 1777 | 0 |

#### Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Pts |
| 2004 | 125cc | Honda | RSA | SPA | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED | RIO | GER | GBR | CZE | POR | JPN | QAT | MAL | AUS | VAL 24 | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2005 | 125cc | Honda | SPA 14 | POR 16 | CHN 7 | FRA 12 | ITA 17 | CAT 15 | NED Ret | GBR Ret | GER 9 | CZE 13 | JPN 12 | MAL 15 | QAT 18 | AUS 17 | TUR 17 | VAL 11 | | | | | 16th | 36 |
| 2006 | 125cc | Honda | SPA Ret | QAT 17 | TUR 21 | CHN 16 | FRA DNQ | ITA Ret | CAT Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2006 | 250cc | Honda | | | | | | | | | NED 15 | GBR 12 | GER 15 | CZE Ret | MAL 9 | AUS 15 | JPN Ret | POR 13 | VAL 13 | | | | 19th | 20 |
| 2007 | 250cc | Aprilia | QAT 11 | SPA Ret | TUR 11 | CHN 11 | FRA 18 | ITA 12 | CAT 20 | GBR Ret | NED 17 | GER 11 | CZE 13 | RSM 12 | POR 12 | JPN 17 | AUS 14 | MAL 10 | VAL 12 | | | | 15th | 47 |
| 2008 | 250cc | Aprilia | QAT 9 | SPA 9 | POR 11 | CHN 9 | FRA 9 | ITA 9 | CAT Ret | GBR 10 | NED 17 | GER 13 | CZE 10 | RSM Ret | INP C | JPN 7 | AUS 8 | MAL 5 | VAL 7 | | | | 12th | 92 |
| 2009 | 250cc | Aprilia | QAT | JPN | SPA | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED 4 | GER 7 | GBR | CZE | | | | | | | | | | | 20th | 22 |
| 2009 | MotoGP | Ducati | | | | | | | | | | | | INP 13 | RSM 11 | POR | AUS | MAL 11 | VAL 13 | | | | 18th | 16 |
| 2010 | MotoGP | Ducati | QAT Ret | SPA 15 | FRA 9 | ITA 8 | GBR 10 | NED 10 | CAT Ret | GER Ret | USA Ret | CZE 12 | INP 9 | RSM 11 | ARA 10 | JPN 14 | MAL Ret | AUS 8 | POR Ret | VAL 11 | | | 14th | 65 |
| 2011 | Moto2 | Pons Kalex | QAT 11 | SPA 24 | POR Ret | FRA 6 | CAT 3 | GBR 18 | NED 16 | ITA 9 | GER Ret | CZE 6 | INP 10 | RSM Ret | ARA 5 | JPN 31 | AUS 13 | MAL 8 | VAL 21 | | | | 12th | 76 |
| 2012 | MotoGP | ART | QAT 15 | SPA 12 | POR 12 | FRA 13 | CAT 13 | GBR 11 | NED Ret | GER 13 | ITA 13 | USA 9 | INP 10 | CZE 10 | RSM Ret | ARA 10 | JPN 12 | MAL 8 | AUS 10 | VAL 11 | | | 12th | 74 |
| 2013 | MotoGP | ART | QAT 11 | AME 11 | SPA 9 | FRA 13 | ITA 8 | CAT 8 | NED 8 | GER 8 | USA Ret | INP 12 | CZE 10 | GBR 10 | RSM 13 | ARA 11 | MAL 9 | AUS 11 | JPN Ret | VAL 11 | | | 11th | 93 |
| 2014 | MotoGP | Forward Yamaha | QAT 4 | AME 9 | ARG 15 | SPA 7 | FRA 9 | ITA 9 | CAT 6 | NED 4 | GER 6 | INP Ret | CZE 8 | GBR 9 | RSM Ret | ARA 2 | JPN 11 | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | VAL 7 | | | 7th | 126 |
| 2015 | MotoGP | Suzuki | QAT 11 | AME 8 | ARG 7 | SPA 7 | FRA Ret | ITA Ret | CAT Ret | NED 9 | GER 10 | INP 14 | CZE 9 | GBR 9 | RSM 10 | ARA 6 | JPN 11 | AUS 9 | MAL 7 | VAL 8 | | | 11th | 105 |
| 2016 | MotoGP | Suzuki | QAT 11 | ARG 11 | AME 5 | SPA 5 | FRA 6 | ITA 9 | CAT Ret | NED Ret | GER 14 | AUT Ret | CZE Ret | GBR 7 | RSM Ret | ARA 7 | JPN 4 | AUS Ret | MAL 13 | VAL 8 | | | 11th | 93 |
| 2017 | MotoGP | Aprilia | QAT 6 | ARG Ret | AME 17 | SPA 9 | FRA Ret | ITA Ret | CAT Ret | NED 10 | GER 7 | CZE 8 | AUT 13 | GBR Ret | RSM Ret | ARA 6 | JPN 7 | AUS Ret | MAL | VAL Ret | | | 15th | 62 |
| 2018 | MotoGP | Aprilia | QAT 19 | ARG Ret | AME 10 | SPA Ret | FRA 9 | ITA Ret | CAT Ret | NED 13 | GER DNS | CZE 15 | AUT 17 | GBR C | RSM 14 | ARA 6 | THA 13 | JPN Ret | AUS 9 | MAL 11 | VAL Ret | | 17th | 44 |
| 2019 | MotoGP | Aprilia | QAT 10 | ARG 9 | AME Ret | SPA 11 | FRA 12 | ITA 11 | CAT Ret | NED 12 | GER Ret | CZE 18 | AUT 14 | GBR Ret | RSM 12 | ARA 7 | THA Ret | JPN 15 | AUS 10 | MAL 13 | VAL 9 | | 14th | 63 |
| 2020 | MotoGP | Aprilia | SPA Ret | ANC Ret | CZE 10 | AUT 11 | STY 12 | RSM 13 | EMI Ret | CAT 12 | FRA 14 | ARA 13 | TER Ret | EUR Ret | VAL 9 | POR 8 | | | | | | | 17th | 42 |
| 2021 | MotoGP | Aprilia | QAT 7 | DOH 10 | POR 6 | SPA 6 | FRA Ret | ITA 7 | CAT Ret | GER 7 | NED 8 | STY Ret | AUT 10 | GBR 3 | ARA 4 | RSM 8 | AME Ret | EMI 7 | ALR Ret | VAL 9 | | | 8th | 120 |
| 2022 | MotoGP | Aprilia | QAT 4 | INA 9 | ARG 1 | AME 11 | POR 3 | SPA 3 | FRA 3 | ITA 3 | CAT 5 | GER 4 | NED 4 | GBR 9 | AUT 6 | RSM 6 | ARA 3 | JPN 16 | THA 11 | AUS 9 | MAL 10 | VAL Ret | 4th | 212 |
| 2023 | MotoGP | Aprilia | POR 9$^6$ | ARG 15 | AME Ret$^4$ | SPA 5 | FRA 5$^8$ | ITA 6$^8$ | GER 16$^9$ | NED 3$^4$ | GBR 1$^5$ | AUT 9$^7$ | CAT 1$^1$ | RSM 12$^8$ | IND Ret | JPN 5 | INA 10 | AUS 8 | THA 8$^5$ | MAL Ret | QAT Ret | VAL 8 | 6th | 206 |
| 2024 | MotoGP | Aprilia | QAT 8$^3$ | POR 8$^8$ | AME 7$^5$ | SPA Ret | FRA 9$^5$ | CAT 4$^1$ | ITA 11$^9$ | NED DNS | GER WD | GBR 6$^3$ | AUT 9$^3$ | ARA 10 | RSM Ret | EMI 8 | INA Ret | JPN 9 | AUS 16$^8$ | THA 9 | MAL 13 | SLD 5$^4$ | 11th | 163 |
* Season still in progress.

## Personal life

Espargaró's younger brother Pol is also a Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently reserve rider for Gas-Gas KTM Tech3 in MotoGP. They competed alongside each other in Moto2 in 2011, and both have been competing in MotoGP since 2014.
Aleix Espargaro is married to Laura Montero, his long-term girlfriend. They dated for about eight years before marrying on August 23, 2014, in Barcelona. The couple had twins in 2018: their daughter Mia, and their son Max.
He is a fan of FC Barcelona and its former player Bojan, whom he finally met at the Gran Premi De Catalunya in 2012. He is noted as being a fan of Japanese cuisine, and owns restaurants located in Andorra.