Aleix Espargaro rode his final race for Pramac Ducati in Valencia today before he moves to Moto2 for the 2011 season. Early on in the race it looked like he might have been in the running for a top 10 finish, but he slid down the grid as the race progressed and wasn’t able to maintain the race pace that he had hinted at in earlier sessions.

The Pramac Ducati reigns will be handed over to Loris Capirossi and Randy De Puniet for 2011, and Espargaro gives his thoughts on his final race with the team below.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director
“We regret not being able to fight for a better position today. Aleix had a really good rhythm this morning and we had high hopes for the race. The first few laps were really good for him, the eighth position was very close. Then, lap after lap while the others have the pace down slightly, he has not been able to approach them and overtake them. The 109 points scored this year are not much, but from this point we begin to work for better results for next year.”

Aleix Espargarò – 11th in the race – 14th in the World Championship
“I am truly sorry for the final position. This was my last race in this Team where I found true friends and I wanted to achieve a good result. I do not have much to say about the race, I tried to overtake my rivals but my pace was not so quick to allow me to approach them. I would like to thank the Pramac Racing Team, Paolo Campinoti and all the technicians who accompanied me during this year. It’s been a great experience where I learned a lot and I’m sure it will be useful for me for the rest of my career.”

Carlos Checa – 15th in the race – 21st in the World Championship
“I wanted to finish this race in every way and I did. The result is not exceptional, but the feeling with my bike was not that strong to allow me to do better. It’s a really good start, but unfortunately after six laps my pace was not fast enough for me to hold the position won. I was first passed by Bautista in the seventh round, while the next lap I passed Capirossi and Aoyama. Thank you anyway to Pramac Racing Team for allowing me to run these last two races while riding their bikes and I wish them a successful future.”

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