Star in tears over ‘one of the most incredible blunders I’ve ever seen’

Sport can be brutal, unforgiving and heartbreaking all at the same time as MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaro found out first hand.

Espargaro was left distraught. Photo: Fox Sports

Spanish MotoGP star Aleix Espargaro has made a horror blunder to finish fifth hin his home Catalonia Grand Prix after he started celebrating a lap before the end of the race.

Espargaro was likely headed for a second-place finish behind Fabio Quartararo, who extended his season lead.

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But the race couldn’t have gone much worse for Espargaro, who started on pole but was overtaken by Quartararo on the first corner.

Then with one lap remaining, Espargaro inexplicably slowed down, pumping his fist as if he had finished the race.

Other riders overtook him and he did realise his mistake until he dropped to fifth.

The commentators were stunned, believing Espargaro was retiring from the race with a lap to go before they realised the blunder.

Aleix Espargaro made an awful mistake. Photo: Fox Sports

“Does he think the race is finished? I think he thinks it’s over?” the commentators said. “Oh my goodness, what a howler by Aleix Espargaro.

“We thought there was a mechanical issue, he though the race was over.

“In an incredible miscalculation, Alexis Espargaro thought his home Grand Prix was over. He thought he’d taken second place.

“That’s one of the most incredible blunders I’ve ever seen.”

After the race, the cameras showed Espargaró in tears after blowing a near certain podium because of his mistake.

A mistake we've seen before and one we'll surely see again 🛑@AleixEspargaro's incredible weekend at his home GP fell victim to human error 😢#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/vVpK3qWJAx

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 5, 2022

Heartbreak for Aleix Espargaró 💔

Tears flow in the box.

We can't imagine how he's feeling right now. #CatalanGPpic.twitter.com/SoLsjFsygM

— MotoGP on BT Sport (@btsportmotogp) June 5, 2022

“The only thing I can say is ‘sorry’ to my team,” Espargaro said. “It is an inadmissable error at this level of competition.

“It is totally my fault. I completely forgot that here the last lap is listed as zero not one hence I took my foot off the gas in the finishing straight.

“I’m very sorry for my team. Because I know I don’t have the speed of Fabio to win [today], but if I want to beat him in the championship I cannot do these mistakes.

“Today I lost nine points, so I’m very sorry.”

Social media could not help but feel bad for the remorseful star.

Funny/sad! Celebrated second place in front of home fans ... but Espargaro still had one lap to go. https://t.co/9DVQhB97ns

— Jack Snape (@jacksongs) June 5, 2022

First it was bizarre and after seeing Aleix Espargaro’s face feels like a sad mistake. #MotoGP

— Kranti Sambhav (@Kranti_Sambhav) June 5, 2022

It was a dramatic race following a terrifying crash on the first lap when Takaaki Nakagami’s head struck the wheel of Francesco Bagnaia, while Alex Rins was also taken out in the carnage.

TOPSHOT – Honda LCR Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami (L) and Suzuki Spanish rider Alex Rins (R) fall during the Moto Grand Prix de Catalunya at the Circuit de Catalunya on June 5, 2022 in Montmelo on the outskirts of Barcelona. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Bagnaia slammed Nakagami after the race and said other riders were scared to race against him.

“We are professional riders, and we have a lot of fears when Taka is riding,” he told the host broadcast.

“(These) mistakes cannot happen. You can’t overtake 12 riders in one braking (zone) – it was really irresponsible.

“If I wasn’t there … he was going into the gravel and his race would be finished.”

With AFP