Being a MotoGP™ rider is so much more than just turning up to a circuit for four days, racing your heart out to try and stand on the podium, and then doing it all over again in a week’s time.
The time spent away from the circus and cameras plays a huge role. It’s beyond crucial. Friends and family are essential ingredients in our lives and that’s no different to the heroes we watch week in, week out. In ‘There Can Be Only One’, family support rings true – especially for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing).
2022 was a breakthrough season for the Spaniard. In his 200th premier class start, Espargaro won a Grand Prix for the first time as he established himself as a firm title challenger.
In the four part docuseries ‘There Can Be Only One’, as well as seeing the outpouring of emotion after that famous win in Argentina, Espargaro speaks about how his two children ask him to bring back a trophy for him when he goes away to race. It’s become normal for Max and Mia to see their dad stand on the podium and come home with a trophy, but that hasn’t always been the case.
“When I leave for a race this year, my kids always say to me: ‘Ok papa, remember to bring back a trophy’,” says the number 41 rider. “They don’t really know how their father was in the past, I never brought trophies back home but this year it’s normal for them. For me it’s not normal. It’s super strange.”
A touching moment also comes when Espargaro reveals a conversation he and his wife had while chilling out away from the circuit.
“One day we were lying in the sun and she said to me, ‘can you imagine if you win the title!?’ And I was like almost crying because she’s never said anything like this to me. I was like, sincerely, I can’t imagine it, it would be unbelievable.”
In the end it wasn’t to be for Espargaro in 2022, but he’ll head into 2023 as one of the pre-season title favourites. And talking of pre-season, you can watch the fantastic, insightful ‘There Can Be Only One’ docuseries for free right now with our VideoPass Free Trial before it ends ahead of Round 1 later this month.