Aprilia is expected to vie for the victory in Aragon, after the Italian brand had some of its best seasons in previous years.
But there were two crashes on Friday and a tough one. FP3 forced Espargaro into Q1, although he managed to get through that stage into Q2 with a solid fourth.
Passing KTM’s Brad Binder on the final lap for his first podium since the Italian Grand Prix Espargaro and now one step away from championship leader Fabio Quartararo ), who crashed on the first lap after a collision with Marc Marquez. : “No, because I made a big mistake on Friday. I crashed twice, I lost a lot of track time, I lost a lot of confidence.
“Saturday morning, I was slow , I failed to put the bike in the top ten.
“But every quarter I improved a little bit, I got a good result in qualifying, but I arrived a little late in the race.
” Peko [Bagnaya] and Enea [Bastianini] rode really well this weekend.
“You just have to look at their lap times in qualifying and the pace in the race.
“So, I think we can be more Get a little closer. But from the start of the weekend, I’m happy. ”
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Espargaro says he started rebuilding his confidence in FP3 and realised his end result was ” Super good”.
“Expectations were very, very high before arriving in Aragon, because I knew it was one of the best circuits in the final stages of the championship,” he added.
“So, maybe I started out a little too hot and I bumped twice on Friday. So, I completely lost confidence.
“From FP3, I started to build confidence. I had a good qualifying, a solid 4th place, and then in the race I didn’t have enough speed to follow Enea and Pecco.
“I know, they have other things going on at the weekend. But in the end, third place is super good for the championship, so I’m happy to be back on the podium. “
