It was almost a family fight for the Qatar GP podium on Sunday night as Aleix Espargaro proved just how far the Aprilia MotoGP project has come.

The elder brother eventually had to settle for fourth behind Pol’s Repsol Honda but having showcased speed, agility and confidence when fighting former champions Marc Marquez and Joan Mir during the 22-lap race, Espargaro is gearing up for the best season of his 20-year Grand Prix career.

“I’m not really disappointed,” he said of his podium near-miss. “I mean, yeah, I was looking for the podium.

“The thing is, the feeling that I had during today’s race is the first time in my life that I had it.

“I felt that I was the strong one on terms of pace, but I was maybe too conservative with the laps that I did behind Marc and Mir. I never expect that they will drop the pace like this so I lose almost a full second with Joan and then almost a full second with Marc. But anyway, I was able to do the fast lap and then catch the group but always was a little bit late, too late, too late, and then I was missing one more lap to catch my brother.

“Races are like this,” Espargaro continued. “Is good enough to be the first race but the most important is the speed we did. I did many laps in 54-half which is amazing. We show that the level of today has been amazing, the race has been very, very, very fast and I’m very glad to say that I’ve been one of the strongest ones there. We are P4 in the championship so overall, this weekend in Qatar has been good to me.”

With Aprilia enjoying a raft of testing opportunities as the only brand left with concessions, there is more to come from the Noale squad, but the progress so far is clear to see.

“We were seeing many videos of last year on Thursday with Matteo Baiocco [Aprilia rider coach], analysing everything because we have a camera guy on track, so we are checking some videos and comparing also to this year ones,” Espargaro explained on Sunday night. “Looks like the first part of the corner I’m very similar to last year but the second part, when I released the front brake, I was always opening one metre last year and then had to turn with a throttle. So this means you can go faster with the fresh tyre but as soon as it drops you lose time. So this year, I’m able to keep this strong point of the Aprilia but when I release the front brake, due to the agility and the turning of the bike I can stay in corner so then also I can help the engine. Plus the engine have, cannot say the number but some more horsepower so overall is more competitive. Still the Ducati was a little bit quicker than us on the straight, Honda also but the Suzuki was not a lot faster and I was able to stay behind them in the straight and not lose time and it’s the first time here in Qatar!

“I know it’s gonna be like an exam every single weekend for Aprilia because we have to reconfirm every time that we are the best of the world,” he admitted. “But we did it in Malaysia test, and I think we did a strong weekend here in Qatar in the first race. I was alone on my fast lap in the qualifying and putting the bike at just 0.2s from the pole, and then on the race I think I did one of the strongest ones. Unfortunately, strategy wasn’t that good so I lose time and I was not able to finish, I’m not saying win but yes, second or third, but races are like this.

“I really have a lot of fun today. It’s a pleasure to be able to fight with the best guys, to have the weapons to fight. Is the first time in my career that I felt that I have it, so it’s gonna be a hungry season.”

With confidence high, Espargaro is expecting a lot from the longest season in MotoGP history.

“Before to start this race weekend, my self confidence was higher than ever in my career, sincerely,” he confirmed. “But you always have some doubts, you have to come to the first race to see how the bike react with drop of the tyre, with the full tank, many things. To see what your opponent does during the Sunday race and today we confirm that we are in a good form. It’s not easy to overtake Marc and Joan Mir and in just one lap open a gap of one-second to them. So I’m very satisfied about this. It means that I’m very, very strong, and the confidence is high.

“I’m not really thinking about if I can win the title or finish in the top five, the only thing that I want is to smile every weekend, to have some fun. This arrived too late in my career because I’m 32-years-old but I want to enjoy a year like this, to fight to the top every race.”