With his seventh place obtained this Sunday in Germany, Aleix was very close to equaling the best result in the RS-GP this year which was sixth position in Qatar. But beyond the raw result, it is above all the fact that he was competitive in the company of the best throughout the weekend which is the most important.
Fourth place in free practice was already a good result, behind Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales and Jonas Folger, ahead of four of the five Hondas, and all the Ducatis. Qualifying also showed good value, with the eighth fastest time just ahead Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Vinales.
Espargaro's start was impeccable, with seventh position on the first lap. Then Aleix went by Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso. But he overtook Crutchlow, and swallowed up Jorge Lorenzo in the process. He passed Danilo Petrucci, but had to give way to Maverick Vinales, then to Alvaro Bautista.
He attacked Andrea Dovizioso, then leader of the World Championship, and overtook him three laps from the checkered flag. He finally finished seventh, which brought relief to his heart and to the Aprilia team, recently still a little demoralized by a few breakages. The second part of the season could be envisaged under favorable auspices.
According to Alex Espargaro, who are " A good result, but to be honest I was expecting something even better. With the exception of Jonas and Marc, who had an extraordinary race, I thought I could have been closer to the podium.
“Unfortunately, at the start I had to force a lot to overtake, stressing the front tire and losing a few tenths. In any case, it was a positive weekend for us. We are progressing step by step.
“Staying with the strongest riders for almost the entire race is positive. Now I'm thinking about relaxing during the break and being ready when we arrive in Brno.
“I'm going to have a few days off with my wife, I don't want to think about motorcycles. I don't plan on riding a motorcycle in the next 20 days, not even a motocross machine. It's good for the head, I need that creative break after the first nine races. I hope we will have recharged the batteries for Brno. Because the second half of the season will be very difficult. »
To Roman Albesian, Aprilia Competition Director, “ Great race for Aleix. It was together on equal ground with bikes and riders fighting for the Championship. We are really very close to staying with the leaders.
“We were among the best over the weekend and that's extremely positive, especially in the dry. If it hadn't rained on Saturday, Aleix could have started even better on the grid and that would have helped him to tire the front tire less while struggling in the first few laps, but we're really happy with how things went happened. Important technical innovations will come soon so that we can continue to grow and go beyond this good level that our project has reached. »
According to Fausto Gresini, team manager, “ We were with the drivers fighting for the title throughout the race. This is a fantastic result which demonstrates the level of competitiveness we have achieved.
“Now we are really close to matching for the top places. At mid-season, our result is clearly positive and we will continue to progress. The credit goes to Aleix, Aprilia who works very well and the whole team who skillfully managed the RS-GP. »
German Grand Prix results:
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 40m 59.525s
2. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 2.835s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 41m 11.071s
4. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 13.778s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 14.505s
6. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 41m 16.059s
7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 41m 19.261s
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 19.713s
9. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 20.663s
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 41m 23.735s
11. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 25.184s
12. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 31.065s
13. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 31.704s
14. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 35.978s
15. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 37.296s
16. Mika Kallio FIN Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 37.377s
17. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 38.848s
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 40.715s
19. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 59.375s
20. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 42m 1.189s
21. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 42m 1.220s
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 129 points
2 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 124
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 123
4 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 119
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 103
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 84
7 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 71
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 66
9 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 65
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 64
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 44
12 Jack MILLER-Honda 41
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 33
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 32
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 31
