Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro has stated he is proud of the team’s MotoGP performance in 2023 even though a mechanical failure robbed him of the chance to fight for third in the championship.

The Spaniard, who ended up fourth behind 2023 works Ducati rider Enea Bastianini, ground to a halt early in the Valencian GP wih a fuelling issue and could only watch as third slipped away.

“I am proud of what we have achieved this year. Last year nobody expected me to get on the podium, but I did. Nobody believed that I would get wins or pole positions this year,” said Espargaro.

“But I got a lot of podiums and fought for the title for a long time. I’m very proud because I didn’t make any mistakes. It is extremely difficult in 20 races. Sometimes you just can’t do it anymore.

“Already after the start the bike stuttered. This continued in the first three laps, the machine stopped in each acceleration phase. As a result, I unfortunately had to give up in the garage.

“I’m not really interested in what happened there. The engine stopped, this is not the first time. Unfortunately, today was the worst day for it, because I would have had significantly more speed than Enea to secure 3rd place in the championship.

“It was a dream of mine. Which part failed in the end? I do not care.”