Espargaro: Binder exceeding track limits “a stupid mistake, cost him a podium”
Despite suffering damage to his front aero package, and seeing his front brake lever guard come loose on lap one, Espargaro was one of the fastest riders throughout the entire race.
Struggling to close a one second gap to Marco Bezzecchi for several laps, Espargaro grew stronger before eventually getting to within a couple of tenths when Brad Binder was relegated to third by the Ducati rider.
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But unlike last season, Espargaro failed to launch a last-lap overtake at the final chicane, although he didn’t need to as Binder was awarded a penalty for exceeding track limits.
Speaking about Binder’s mistake, Espargaro said: "I feel sorry for Brad because it is a stupid mistake. It cost him a podium. It’s very difficult to achieve a podium here but this is racing.
"I knew that I couldn’t overtake him and was very difficult to stay behind on the acceleration so the plan was to stay as close as possible and push him to the limit and force him to make a mistake.
"Finally, he made a mistake trying to accelerate early. I knew it and this is why I didn’t try in the last corner."
Had Espargaro not suffered damage, then an attempted overtake on Binder would have been more likely. However, his lap one impact with Luca Marini saw him lose performance in two parts of the circuit where the Aprilia rider was strongest.
"I was outside of the corner so I really couldn’t avoid Luca. He picked up the bike and I don’t know why," added Espargaro.
"We had a small contact but I didn’t know that I broke the wing. The first part of the race was very difficult because every time in corner six and corner 12, when I threw the bike in I had a lot of shaking.
"It was really difficult for me to maintain the speed there. I was really strong there during the weekend so I lost a lot there.
"But I didn't lose the rhythm. It was a bit frustrating and difficult to keep the pace. But I’m happy to close out the race on the podium."
