MotoGP: Espargaró Signs Two-Year Contract Extension With Aprilia

Aleix Espargaró and the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini will continue their partnership for at least another two seasons.

The Spaniard joined Aprilia in 2017 after losing his Suzuki factory ride and holds the outfit’s joint-best result of a sixth place finish scored on his RS-GP debut in Qatar.

Espargaró penned a contract extension that keeps him with the Italian manufacturer until the end of the 2022 season.

Speaking about the deal Espargaró said:

“I am happy about this confirmation. The human aspect is extremely important for me and in four seasons, Aprilia has become my second family, so with this contract, which is certainly the most important of my career, they demonstrated that I am at the centre of this project.

“On a technical level, the growth in recent months convinced me, with the arrival of many reinforcements and the debut of the 2020 RS-GP, which did so well in the tests.

“I feel like we need to finish the job we started over the winter. I can’t wait to get back together with my entire team and race with the new bike, to take this project where is deserves to be.”

Aleix Espargaró

Espargaró made his MotoGP debut as a replacement rider with Ducati in 2009 and joined the series full-time in 2010. Following a year back in Moto2 in 2011, Espargaró has been a constant in the series since 2012.

Dominating the Open Class with Forward Racing in 2014, the Spaniard bagged a factory contract with Suzuki for the 2015 and -16 seasons.

After losing his Suzuki ride to Andrea Iannone, Espargaró joined Aprilia and has been with the factory team since.

Despite mixed results, Espargaró has become an essential part of the Aprilia framework and played a pivotal role in the development of a brand-new RS-GP for the 2020 season.

Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola commented on the contract extension:

“We wanted Aleix’s confirmation by all means and we are very happy that it arrived. At a rather tumultuous time for the rider market, providing continuity for our project with a rider the calibre of Aleix is essential.

“With him, who we have established as our captain, we have begun an entirely new project, involving new resources and taking a bike that seems to have come out very well onto the track.

“Now we hope that he will soon take an Aprilia to the top, where it has never been in MotoGP history.”

Massimo Rivola

It is yet unclear who will partner Espargaró at Aprilia in the upcoming seasons with current rider Andrea Iannone awaiting a decision on whether his 18-month doping ban can be overturned.

Aprilia has expressed support for Iannone and insisted on intentions to retain the Italian, however, outgoing Ducati race winner Danilo Petrucci has also been linked with the Noale factory.