Espargaro: This season's Aprilia the best bike I've had

The Spaniard took Aprilia's first ever MotoGP era pole on Saturday at Termas, going five thousandths of a second within Marc Marquez's all-time lap record set in 2014.

He backed it up by winning on Sunday and fighting his way past Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martin, who took the lead after the first corner.

After claiming his first win in over 200 MotoGP races as well as the fastest lap at Termas, the 32-year-old was on cloud nine.

"I'm extremely happy because since Qatar I felt, even in the pre-season, I felt like I had the best bike I've ever had in my career," Espargaro said.

"Also, in Qatar I felt strong and we have step-by-step shown a lot of potential. Yesterday we proved we were the fastest, and also today in the race it was not lucky or a wet race and now we are leading."

A Sunday that will go down in history!@aleixespargaro and Aprilia celebrate their first-ever win in #MotoGP!!!!#ArgentinaGP ?? #MotoGP #AE41 #AleixEspargaro pic.twitter.com/7dvZwoxlld

— Aprilia (@ApriliaOfficial) April 4, 2022

After only just missing out on the podium in the Qatar season opener in fourth place, the race win in Argentina has moved the 32-year-old into the lead in the MotoGP riders standings.

While asserting this win does not alter much personally, Espargaro believes securing Aprilia's first pole and win in the MotoGP era since their return in 2015 will provide the team with a significant boost.

"I'm extremely happy because I feel like this championship is one of the most difficult ever because of the level," he said. "For me, I'm obviously extremely happy to win the race, but for me personally nothing really changed.

"I'm a very lucky person and my job is my passion, I have a dream family, and I have everything a man can dream of.