Aleix Espargaró

Aleix Espargaró Villà is a Former 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. He retired from Grand Prix racing at the end of the 2024 season and signed as a test rider for Honda Racing Corporation. He decided to become a cyclist with the United States team, Lidl-Trek, making his debut in the world of cycling at the 2025 Tour of Austria.

𝕏 AleixEspargaro FB aleix.espargaro.41 IG aleixespargaro

Career

Espargaró was born in Granollers, Spain. Aleix is the older brother of fellow MotoGP rider Pol Espargaro. Espargaró had his breakthrough in the MotoGP season with Forward Yamaha finishing 7th in the championship with the highlight being a 2nd-place finish in [2014 2021 Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix|Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix|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, Espargaró 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, 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, Espargaró 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, Espargaró 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)

Espargaró 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, Espargaró 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, Espargaró 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 – Espargaró 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, Espargaró 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, Espargaró 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, Espargaró's 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, Espargaró's 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, Aprilia's first MotoGP win, as well as his first time leading the riders' championship. He scored 4 successive podium finishes during the European rounds, and was en route to a fifth successive podium until he dropped to 5th place after mistaking the last lap for the race finish in his home race at Barcelona. He returned to the podium at MotorLand Aragon, and remained a championship contender until the Malaysian Grand Prix, as his title challenge faltered during the flyaway rounds of 2022, notably at Motegi as incorrect bike settings forced him to start from the pitlane and finish in 16th despite qualifying ahead of his main rivals for the championship, Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia. Lacklustre results at Sepang and Valencia ultimately meant Espargaró finished in 4th place in the championship, nevertheless his highest ever placing in the MotoGP world championship.
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 Catalan Grand Prix, Espargaró held a press conference where he announced he would officially retire from regular competition at the end of the 2024 season. He won the sprint race on the same weekend as his announcement of retirement from full-time Grand Prix racing was made, and featured on the sprint race podium in 3rd at Spielberg and Silverstone. However, he did not finish on the podium in any feature races in 2024, ending his last full-time season 11th in the world championship. Espargaró was replaced by his long time friend and defending world champion Jorge Martín at Aprilia for 2025.

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. He made 2 wildcard appearances, at the Spanish and British Grands Prix.
It was midway through the season that Honda appeared to be experiencing a genuine rider crisis in several competitions. A few days before the Hungarian GP, Espargaró, who was slated to replace Somkiat Chantra in LCR Honda Idemitsu, suffered a cycling injury.

Tour of Austria

Joining the United States team, Lidl-Trek, Espargaró will make his debut at the 2025 Tour of Austria, a stage cycling race which will be held from July 9 to July 13, 2025. The five-day race will cover a mountainous route, finishing in the city of Feldkirch, Austria.
Before fully committing to the world of cycling, Espargaró returned to the MotoGP circuit at least one last time. He competed as a wildcard rider with Honda in the 2025 Dutch GP at the Assen Circuit, where he finished last in 16th position.

Personal life

Espargaró's younger brother Pol is also a Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently reserve test rider for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in MotoGP. They competed alongside each other in Moto2 in, and both have been competing in MotoGP since 2014.
Espargaró is married to Laura Montero. 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.
Espargaró 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.