Espargaro was seen by many as the favourite for Sunday’s full-distance race at the Losail International Circuit, with six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez leading the praise for the Aprilia rider after he showed stunning pace in the closing laps of the sprint to finish third.
But the 34-year-old’s hopes of adding a fourth premier class win to his tally were dashed at the start of the grand prix as he slumped from second to ninth on the opening lap, leaving him outside the lead group.
Trundling in the middle of the pack, the Spaniard was unable to make any real recovery from his poor launch and crossed the finish line in eighth, just three tenths clear of GasGas Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Espargaro described his lack of pace on Sunday as “embarrassing”, saying a tyre issue could be the only reasonable explanation for his troubles in Qatar.
“I had some problem with the rear tyre,” he explained. “From the warm-up lap I felt that the rear tyre was like ice. No traction at all. It was a nightmare all race. I couldn't lean, Nothing I could do.
“On Saturday night when I went to sleep I was 100% sure that I would win the race. This is how I felt.
“But the race was a nightmare. I was extremely slow, [lapping in] 1m53s all race. Yesterday I did 52.4s in lap 8 of the sprint, so it was embarrassing.
Espargaro’s tyre issues on Sunday were particularly frustrating as he had done an excellent job of keeping the Michelin rubber alive during the sprint race which allowed him to pass both Marquez and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in the last four laps to claim the final spot on the podium.
Bagnaia, who was unable to put up much of a fight to Espargaro in the half-distance contest, went on to win the main race at Losail with ease.
Explaining what went wrong with his tyre, the Aprilia rider said: “We have to try to understand with Michelin and with the team [what happened]. In the past, it was difficult because you just have the long race and [Michelin] can say you don't have the speed.
“On Saturday, I was very fast. Even on the last lap I felt that I could go in 1m52-half quite easily and today [Sunday] I almost crashed in every corner. I was very lucky to finish in the top 10."
Espargaro’s team-mate Maverick Vinales brought the other factory RS-GP home in 10th to round off an underwhelming outing for the Italian manufacturer, which had shown the potential to be Ducati’s closest challenger throughout pre-season testing.
Vinales reiterated that Aprilia is effectively starting the season from zero after radically overhauling its V4-powered MotoGP contender over the winter - and it would take some time before it sees the fruits of its labour.
However, he could already see a major difference in the way the bike accelerates out of corners, with race starts also an area where the Noale marque has made strides compared to 2023.
“Of course, I'm not happy with the result [in Qatar] because our level is much higher," he said.
“I'm happy with what I see and what I can bring to the team to improve the bike because one part that is very important is the start, [it] improved a lot compared to last year. And another important point is the bike accelerates really well.
“So now it's about the way we brake, especially with the downforce and the difference in the aerodynamics, it's pushing the front tyre on the wrong side, so we need to be aware of that and try to improve.
“Because today the tyres were fantastic but the front was completely gone. Normally I'm the guy who uses the front less.
“So we need to really evaluate this thing that may be an indication that we are wrong on the balance of the bike.”
