It is customary to say that the MotoGP season really begins on the Jerez circuit, for the first European round. This is progressing quickly but, before that, the Circuit of the Americas in Texas and its more than 5,5 kilometers of asphalt will put the teams and drivers to the test, mainly due to the antagonistic characteristics of the American track and 'a rather bumpy surface in the past.
For this year 2019, we don't really know what to expect in this area and, curiously enough, it is nevertheless on this surface that the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini has decided to stay next Monday to carry out a private test with Aleix Espargaro et Andrea Iannone.
For his part, the Spanish driver arrives in Texas encouraged by his ninth place in the general classification of the world championship, a result that the Catalan achieved thanks to two strong performances in Qatar and Argentina, arriving 10th and 7th respectively.
Finishing in the top 10 will once again be the main objective in Texas for the man for whom the American track is doing rather well given his past performances.
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- In 2013 in Austin, Aleix Espargaró was the first CRT rider to cross the finish line in 11th position, riding his Aprilia ART.
- In 2014, he qualified fourth on the starting grid with his Forward Yamaha, behind three Honda riders.
- In 2015, he qualified and finished the race in eighth place, one place ahead of Suzuki teammate Maverick Viñales.
- In 2016, he finished the race in fifth position, his first top five since 2014.
- In 2017, he stopped mid-race to change the front tire on his Aprilia RS-GP and finished last in 17th position.
- In 2018, he started from 19th on the grid and moved up the field to cross the finish line in 10th place behind Rabat and Miller, scoring points for the first time in 2018.
Aleix Espargaró : “My goal is to arrive at Jerez, still in the top ten of the championship standings, with an appreciable number of points and results. To do this we must always get the most out of our technical package, as we did in the first two races. Here at COTA, I made a nice comeback last year. It's not the easiest track for us, but I hope to work hard during the weekend and on test day.
