Aleix Espargaro told his wife ‘this is the end’ after he made one mistake during 2024 MotoGP season

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Aleix Espargaro opted to call time on his illustrious MotoGP career at the end of the 2024 season. The Spaniard made his debut in the premier class back in 2009.

After moving down to Moto2 after one full season in MotoGP with Pramac in 2010, Espargaro returned to the premier class full-time in 2012 and went on to ride for the likes of Pons, Aspar, Forward Racing and Suzuki.

The Spaniard joined Aprilia as a factory rider in 2017 and spent eight years with the Noale outfit. In that time, he grabbed three wins, five pole positions and 10 podiums, registering a best finish of 4th in the Riders’ Championship in 2022.

Espargaro decided to retire from regular competition at the end of the 2024 season, and the Spaniard has pinpointed the moment he knew his time in MotoGP was over.

Aleix Espargaro told his wife ‘this is the end’ after his crash in the sprint race at Jerez

Espargaro finished the 2024 campaign in 11th in the standings. The Aprilia rider registered a best finish of fourth at Catalunya – he also won the sprint race that weekend.

This Grand Prix would be where he announced he would be retiring from MotoGP at the end of the year. Speaking with Serbian publication SportKlub, Espargaro revealed that he had made the decision at just the fourth race of the season at Jerez.

The Spaniard crashed on the first lap in the sprint race and also retired from the Grand Prix after a collision with Johann Zarco. After his sprint race accident, he called his wife to tell her ‘this is the end’ as he did not want to suffer another fall.

“It was after the sprint race in Jerez, I had a big accident on Saturday,” he said.

“I remember perfectly that I got to my motor home, called my wife and told her: ‘Laura, this is the end’. She answered me: ‘What?!’. I said, ‘Yes, yes, this is the end.’

“I decided it’s time for us to stop, I don’t want to fall anymore, get hurt, hold that pressure. I started to feel, and this is a fact, that this year I am not as explosive and fast as I was, for example, last season.

“The accident in the sprint race in Jerez was quite difficult, it forced me to make a decision, and then I decided to announce it in Barcelona because it is a very special place. But the decision was made in Jerez”.

Aleix Espargaro will be a test rider for Honda in 2025

While he may have retired from a full-time seat, Espargaro will remain in the premier class in some capacity as he joins Honda as a test rider for the 2025 season.

Fellow Spaniard Joan Mir is ready to work with Espargaro this year, as the 2020 MotoGP prepares for his third season with the factory Honda team.

Espargaro will be replaced at Aprilia by the 2024 champion Jorge Martin in what is a major coup for the team. He will be patterned by Marco Bezzecchi in 2025 after the Italian departed VR46.

But Espargaro believes Aprilia missed out on Maverick Vinales as the ‘ideal’ teammate for Martin. Vinales was the only non-Ducati rider to win a race in 2024, but he opted to leave the team at the end of 2024 for KTM satellite team Tech3.