On a circuit that he discovered with the Aprilia, Aleix finished in twelfth position in the first free practice session in 1'40.982, just 0.6 behind the leader, his compatriot Maverick Vinales.
The second session was more complicated because Fausto Gresini's team had to both make the machine progress according to the evolution of the track, but also qualify among the first ten to have a direct transfer for Q2 in case of rain on Saturday morning. The eldest of the Espargaro brothers got out of this difficult trap particularly well, from which others were unable to escape. In 1'40.175, he achieved a good ninth time, 0.698 behind the first Maverick Vinales.
That was the good news. The worst was that if the Aprilia RS-GP was efficient in speed, that is to say over a lap, on the other hand it was less brilliant in race pace, unlike usual. The problem mainly came from braking, which will need to be improved before Sunday's race.
For Aleix Espargaro, “ The feeling on Friday was strange. I still haven't found the sensations I had in Qatar, especially when it came to stopping the bike.
“I think when the track gets better, things will evolve. Right now we're still too close to the limit for me to feel comfortable on the bike.
“In any case, we were able to enter the top 10 and that is positive, because the weather forecast predicts rain for this Saturday and that could make it difficult to improve the times for qualifying. »
MotoGP J.1 ranking:
1. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 39.477s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 39.778s +0.301s
3. Karel Abraham CZE Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 39.880s +0.403s
4. Alvaro Bautista ESP Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 39.922s +0.445s
5. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 39.960s +0.483s
6. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 40.120s +0.643s
7. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 40.124s +0.647s
8. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 40.157s +0.680s
9. Alex Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 40.175s +0.698s
10. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
1m 40.250s +0.773s
11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 40.338s +0.861s
12. Johann zarco ENG Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
1m 40.340s +0.863s
13. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 40.345s +0.868s
14. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 40.399s +0.922s
15. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 40.431s +0.954s
16. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 40.531s +1.054s
17. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 40.588s +1.111s
18. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
1m 40.599s +1.122s
19. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 40.908s +1.431s
20. alex rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 41.083s +1.606s
21. Espargaro Pol ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 41.632s +2.155s
22. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 42.074s +2.597s
23. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)*
1m 42.179s +2.702s
Photos © Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
