It is with a certain impatience tinged with a slight anxiety that Aleix Espargaró awaits the second round of tests on the Losail track. It must be said that the first, consisting of two days of work, revealed an Aprilia RS-GP that was attractive to say the least. Best time on Saturday, he finished his performance third, with the idea that finally, this opus by Noale would be the right one. Because the pace in the racing version was also exciting. However, the Spaniard refuses to get excited, his experience with the brand having already made him fall from heights more often than not...
Will 2021 be the year of revelation for Aprilia ? This is the only question that we did not ask ourselves when making predictions for this campaign. MotoGP future. The name of the manufacturer was even hidden out of modesty. No driver seemed to want to embark on his adventure and the team had just been shaken by the disappearance of the boss of its host structure. Gresini. Then the first laps of the new RS-GP took place at Losail, and two days later, there was talk of a two-year contract for Andrea Dovizioso ...
A whirlwind to which Aleix Espargaró resists. And for good reason: he knows the music in Noale…” I don't want to be too enthusiastic because last year I was also very optimistic before suffering a big shock when the reality revealed itself during the race in Jerez. But I am very motivated. I say it: we deserve it and everyone deserves it too at Noale, we deserve a good season. We deserve to fight with the best ».
« I say that every season, it's true » says the eldest Espargaró who, however, cannot deny having felt something different this time: “ Honestly, this time it seems to be looking better. After these two days in Losail and after excellent times achieved by everyone, I can say that we are in a good situation ».
Aleix Espargaro: “it’s not luck”
What impressed the Spaniard the most was his pace during the 20-lap race simulation. From start to finish, he only lost 0,3s. “ After the Jerez tests and these two days of testing in Losail, I can start to dream. Why not after all ? This bike works well, we have no problems at the moment, we are competitive ". He insists : " it's not luck. They worked hard last year and during this winter. The project is evolving. So yes, I am optimistic. We can start to dream because we are close to the best motorcycles. We demonstrated it, and not just on one lap ».
« For the moment, the stability of the bike allows me to attack without taking excessive risks, and that is positive » analyzes Aleix. “ We no longer have last year's soft allocation from Michelin. It is now the previous medium which acts as a soft tire and we have run in 53 and small 54. Which is very fast. Our lap times showed that we could beat the best. During the race simulation, I was among the best. We have reached a milestone. We had already felt it in Jerez ».
"We have especially progressed in stability and acceleration. The engine is more flexible, we have more traction and we also have less “wheeling”. It's a combination of things that allows me to accelerate harder than last season ". There is still a pitfall: “ we lack top speed. I have a better position on the bike, but it is also heavier to ride and requires more physically. I finished exhausting these tests. So we still have to find agility. And we still have three days to go ". And it starts tomorrow, Wednesday...
