Episode 41 of Last on the Brakes, the #MotoGPPodcast, is packed full of reaction to the final round of the 2019 MotoGP™ World Championship as John Hopkins and Simon Crafar debrief the events in Valencia, including five-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo bowing out.
Plus, Matt Dunn and Fran Wyld are joined by Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro as the trio sit down to discuss a plethora of different things. Here are the five key takeaways from this week’s podcast, which you can listen to now on Spotify.
1. “It’s always nice when I can beat KTM, so for Pol and for them it’s always nice when they can beat me!” - Aleix discusses the friendly rivalry between himself and brother Pol Espargaro, and the subsequent battle between Aprilia and KTM.
2. “We are completely different” – Despite growing up together, Aleix describes how his riding style differs to Pol along with the strong points and weak points of one and other.
3. “All MotoGP riders have literally put their entire lives into motorcycle racing” - John Hopkins goes into detail about how making the decision to retire is one of the most difficult a rider ever has to make. The American says how Jorge Lorenzo, fortunately, was able to take the decision to retire himself, instead of being forced into early retirement.
4. “He managed the tyres so well… I was super impressed” - Simon Crafar talking about how Jack Miller managed his tyres during the race, before eventually being able to pull away from Andrea Dovizioso and closing in on Fabio Quartararo. Crafar believes Dovizioso to be one of the best in the paddock at conserving tyre life, making Miller’s performance even more impressive.
5. “Maverick did have a technical problem that caused lack of grip” - Simon tells the podcast about the mystery of Maverick Viñales in Sunday’s Valencia Grand Prix. With Simon predicting him to finish second, Maverick struggled all race long and didn’t feature at the front, with Simon telling us why!
Catch the latest episode of Last on the Brakes right now to fill the void of the 2019 season coming to a close, with all of this to look forward to plus much, much more!