Aleix Espargaro announces retirement from MotoGP
MotoGP will say goodbye to one of its most popular riders at the end of the 2024 season, with Aleix Espargaro announcing his retirement. In a special press conference held at the Catalunya MotoGP round, the 34-year-old Spaniard confirmed this year will be his last as a full-time rider, ending a career that covers more than 300 grands prix and nearly two decades.
Across those two decades, Espargaro rode for Honda in the 125cc World Championship, Honda and Aprilia in 250cc/Moto2, plus Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki, and most recently Aprilia in MotoGP. Espargaro joined Aprilia Racing in 2017, making history with their first race victory in MotoGP. That win, at the 2022 Argentine Grand Prix, was also Espargaro’s first after more than a decade in the premier class.
“At the end of this season, I will retire from being a full-time MotoGP rider. It’s been a nice journey, I’ve enjoyed it a lot,” an emotional Espargaro said. “My trajectory has been quite different. It’s not easy and nobody gives you anything for free, but mine has been really very strange. No one, not even a Hollywood movie, could have thought that, at 30 years old, I could win races and take podiums with a brand that hadn’t done it before. So I’m very happy and proud.
" My head says I can continue racing, and be fast in a grid of riders who are the best in history. I feel competitive and physically good, but my heart is asking me to stop, to spend more time at home, be with my wife and kids. So that’s why I’ve decided to step aside and enjoy life.
"More than anything, I want to thank Aprilia. These last two or three years have been a dream with everything we’ve achieved. We made history and I’ll be eternally grateful for everything they’ve given me, and everything I’ve been able to give to them.”
At Catalunya, Espargaro secured pole and won the Tissot Sprint, then finished fourth in the feature race. His replacement at Aprilia Racing will be Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing, but a team mate had not been confirmed at time of writing.