Espargaro ends Japanese Grand Prix with a crash after struggling with brake issues

The weather conditions at Motegi had caused havoc with the MotoGP schedule this weekend, and the final example of this was the reduction in length of the Sunday practice session from 50 minutes to 45. The race was able to take place, however, at its full duration. Jorge Lorenzo took off from pole position and would never look back, leaving behind the pursuing Marc Márquez and Dani Pedrosa after they spent a section of the race close behind him. Lorenzo won the Japanese GP to keep his title hopes alive, with Márquez second and Pedrosa third. The battle for the 2013 World Championship will go down to the final race of the season at Valencia in two weeks’ time.

The Power Electronics Aspar riders got off to a great start, with Aleix Espargaró again showing top formo n his ART. The Spaniard was up in the top five off the line, but would have to drop his pace after the opening lap when he experienced braking issues. This problem had him battling over the course of the next few laps, concluding with a crash just after the midway point of the race.

Aleix Espargaró (DNF): “It was a shame about the race today, because I got away really well and was fourth or fifth off the line -the bike was going great. In fact, after the warmup I told my mechanics that I hadn’t had such fun in four or five races. We were a second off the top riders in the morning at a difficult track, so I was very excited. And I got a good start. However, from the beginning I noticed I had some problems with the brakes, so I was going very wide on the opening lap and everyone passed me. I had to ride much slower and brake early. In the end I crashed, but fortunately I escaped unhurt. It’s a shame to end the flyaways like this, as it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. At least my brother win the Moto2 title today, so from me and also from all of the Aspar Team, congratulations to him. In less than two weeks we have the race in Valencia, the home race for the team, and we’ll see if we can win there again.”

Source: Aspar Team