Fans witnessed an absolute scorcher at the Thai GP as Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) beat Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to the race win under the blistering sun. All eyes were fixed firmly at the front as the top three battled it out in sensational fashion, but a little further back, Aleix Espargaro was having a dramatic day of his own.
Beginning the race from the front row, the Aprilia rider crossed the finish line in fifth place, only to be relegated to P8 due to a three-second penalty for contravening the new tyre pressure regulations. Espargaro grappled not only with this setback but also struggled significantly due to the sweltering weather conditions in Thailand.
“Sincerely, I couldn’t breathe. It was the hardest race of my life. In the last three laps, I was panicking because I tried to breathe, and I couldn’t. I was super, super worried. Yeah, when I came into the pits I thought I was going to die, I couldn’t breathe,” Espargaro told media post-race.
“It has been a really tough race for me to be focused. But for me, it’s like today’s race is a good example of my Championship. We are position number five in terms of riders, the four riders who finished in front of me have been faster this year and they have better bikes than mine, that’s for sure. So, for me, today’s race is a pure example of my Championship.”
The #41 labelled the Thai GP as the “worst race” in his career before detailing just how he suffered so much.
“It was all the heat of the bike, of the chassis, of the engine, everything, it’s coming from the middle – like the fuel tank – and is going into the lungs. We couldn’t breathe. Maverick [Vinales] stopped the race due to this, he couldn’t breathe. “
“So, he went into the pits and Raul [Fernandez] told me in the middle of the race he couldn’t breathe. So, he decided to stop the pace and lose 10s in the last part of the race.”
The struggles faced by the Aprilia riders against the weather conditions underscore the need to address these challenges promptly, especially considering that something similar is anticipated in upcoming races in Malaysia and Qatar.