Aleix Espargaro: The old Assen was ten times better!

Part of the original 1949 world championship calendar, the Assen track evolved from a 28.57km road circuit to a more manageable 7.7km length and then, from 1984 to 2005, a 6km layout.

The Northern Loop, at the start of the lap, was then sliced off for 2006 and replaced by a long series of right-handers, cutting its length to 4.5km. The circuit has remained largely unchanged since.

Aleix Espargaro is now the only rider on the MotoGP grid to have raced on the previous Assen layout, in the 125cc class in 2005.

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“In my first year in the world championship, I still did the first half of the old layout. Then the second year, in 2006, it was this [current] circuit,” he said.

“The old layout was ten times better. It is not because we are nostalgic, but it was ten times better.

“Now, Assen is still beautiful and especially the last sector is still fast and different to the other tracks, but it is a more normal circuit. The first and second sectors; it is a normal track.

“In the past it was crazy. One of the best ever. 2005 I raced here in 125s. I’m f**king old! I remember a race with Nico Terol and he had the Derbi and I had a Honda, on the old layout.”

Espargaro qualified 20th out of the 40 riders on his Assen Grand Prix debut in 2005 - against rivals such as Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Iannone, Mika Kallio and Marco Simoncelli - then crashed out early in the race, while on the brink of the top ten.

Fast forward to 2022 and Assen saw one of Espargaro’s best MotoGP performances, fighting back from 15th to fourth after an early collision with Fabio Quartararo.

The Aprilia rider crossed the line just 2.5s from race winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), despite losing almost 10-seconds when he was forced off track by the impact from Quartararo’s bike - passing both Jack Miller and Brad Binder at the final corner.

But Espargaro’s fortunes last weekend in Germany mean he approaches this weekend with caution.

“I am also very fast in Germany and this year the race was twenty seconds faster. Yes, I’m fast here and it’s one of my favourite tracks and very good for Aprilia but will this be enough or not?

“If the Ducatis drop twenty seconds off the record of the race [again] then it will be difficult for everybody, but I am going to be positive: it is a circuit I love, a good layout and good for my riding style, a lot of flow corners and you can really ride in the centre of the apex around the fast corners.

“I think it is going to be good for the RS-GP and hopefully it will be a good one before the summer break.”

Espargaro’s foot fractures are continuing to improve, but he needs several more weeks before he can train as usual.