Aleix Espargaro leaves Laguna Seca empty-handed, aims for strong Indy comeback

Laguna Seca has provided the stage for some famous battles over the years and today was no different as Marc Márquez overcame Valentino Rossi with a pass in the Corkscrew that was a carbon copy of the one famously made by the Italian on Casey Stoner back in 2008. This time the move was for second place but it wasn’t long before Marquez had reeled in poleman and race leader Stefan Bradl, passing the German to take his second victory in as many weekends by a comfortable margin.

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders Aleix Espargaró and Randy de Puniet qualified as the top two CRT riders on the grid in eleventh and twelfth place respectively but unfortunately neither were able to turn their qualifying performances into points. De Puniet was forced to retire with a mechanical problem after just four laps and then, one lap later, his team-mate Aleix also headed back to the pits after losing the front and crashing. With a three-week summer break to rebuild their strength, both riders are confident of returning to their best form at Indianapolis in mid-August.

Aleix Espargaró (DNF):
“It is a shame for the first half of the season to end this way but we have to focus on the positives because we have achieved some incredible things and I am sure at Indianapolis we will be back to our best. We have struggled a little bit to find a set-up this weekend and I didn’t have the same feel for the bike that I have at other tracks but I felt ready for the race. With the higher temperatures we decided to run the harder tyres but I didn’t have a good feeling for them and after a year and a half with the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar Team I have crashed out of a race for the first time. These things happen though and we have to turn the page and start thinking about coming back stronger at Indianapolis.”

Source: Aspar Media