Aleix Espargaro, a 34-year-old racer from Spain, shared some big news on Thursday before the Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona. Last year, he won both races held on Saturday and Sunday at this same event.
Espargaro’s contract with Aprilia, his current team, will end this year. Two years ago, when he signed this contract, he thought it might be his last one.
Even though he said at the Americas GP that he hadn’t decided about racing in 2025, he’s now decided to retire.
“I am happy to announce my retirement as a full-time rider. It has been a wonderful 20 years in this paddock and I am very happy and proud of what we have achieved together with Aprilia,” said Espargaro.
“We made history and that will never be forgotten. I have had so much fun and we have created an incredible human group. We have a very nice weekend ahead of us, at a track I like and where I am fast, and there are still plenty of races left until Valencia to be competitive.”
Espargaro started his MotoGP journey in 2009 with Pramac Ducati at the Indianapolis GP, where he finished 13th and earned his first points. He continued to race for Pramac Ducati in 2010.
Then, he moved to the Moto2 class in 2011 and got his first podium at Barcelona.
He returned to MotoGP in 2012, riding an Aprilia-powered CRT machine for the Aspar team. Later, he raced for the Forward Racing team on a Yamaha machine.
In 2015, he joined the Suzuki project and helped develop the GSX-RR bike. He then moved to Aprilia in 2017 and has been with them since.
In 2021, he made history by scoring Aprilia’s first MotoGP podium at the British GP, and in 2022, he won his and the team’s first race in Argentina.
Throughout his career, Espargaro has been vocal about safety in MotoGP and has advocated for necessary changes.
