Behind Lorenzo it was NGM Forward Racing rider Aleix Espargaro who claimed his first podium finish this season in front of his home crowd at Aragon Grand Prix and his first ever podium in career in the MotoGP class, ensuring a 1-2 finish for Yamaha riders.
The Spaniard will be remembered as the first rider on the MotoGP podium with an Open bike. Aleix was very good at staying calm when Smith touched him at turn three at the beginning of the race, obliging him to go wide and recovering, lap after lap, from the back to the sixth position.
Starting on with slick tyres, Aleix managed the race perfectly when it started to rain. With seven laps to go, he was the first to decide to enter the pits to change bike. He did it one lap before all the other riders and this was the key of the success of this incredible race that saw him second at the finish line behind Lorenzo and in front of Cal Crutchlow by the slimest of margins.
‰ÛÏIt‰Ûªs my first podium in MotoGP and this is an incredible feeling." Espargaro enthused. "We have worked hard throughout the season to get this result and I want to thank the NGM Forward Racing Team and my family that has always supported me.
"It was a difficult race, made more complicated by Smith who touched me at the beginning of the race, obliging me to recover from the 19th position. When I was sixth, with seven laps to go, I took the risk to be the first rider to enter the pits to change bike, as it was raining a lot.
"It was a perfect strategy. In the last lap I heard Cal catching me, he touched me on the straight but I could defend my second position. It‰Ûªs an extraordinary result and I‰Ûªm going to party till Japan GP!‰Û
