MotoGP Aragon J1: a hectic day for Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia/13) who is doing very well

Aleix Espargaró had announced it, it is in Aragon that he wants to remember the good memories of those who have already excluded him from a title race which would therefore only concern Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia. But the Aprilia official is keen on his menage a trois, the sustainability of which he will play for this weekend. The pressure is strong and despite his reassuring speeches, the facts show a certain excitement. Here is the summary of his Friday in Alcañiz which could also have ended with an injury and/or a sanction…

Aleix Espargaró is doing well on this first day of Aragon Grand Prix. He showed with his best time of the FP1 that he had the speed, but he also betrayed nerves on edge, whatever he said. Because all the same, there was this astonishing moment at the end of the morning session during the start tests, a strict procedure monitored by the marshals, then two falls and to finish a thirteenth place. In summary, on a field that he claims to be his own, he is still dominated by his teammate Maverick Vinales...

To complete the story of the departure test procedure, it was argued by the pilot and Aprilia a malfunction of the attitude corrector which led to this normally punishable situation of finding yourself in front of your competitors in the middle of rehearsing their flight... The argument was validated, and therefore no sanction pronounced...

Then there are the two falls. Who crumpled up a body already shaken since Silverstone and abused since the last of the two days of testing at Misano. In both cases, an Achilles heel and a little finger were fractured. But Aleix Espargaro swear he's fine. As for the fact that he only finished 13th and dominated by his neighbor in the box, there too, the 33-year-old driver didn't care.

Aleix Espargaró: “ here I am faster than Maverick Viñales »

Here are his remarks taken on motorsport magazine... " it was a pleasure to ride the bike here after struggling in Misano and Austria » he begins. He even insists: “ It was a positive day but I made two mistakes. The first one was more serious because I went off the line and hit the dirt. The second fall was very slow. In both times and the tires were ruined, just like my sessions ».

Regarding his condition, he reassures: “ I'm not hurt. The bike was of course completely destroyed, but there are also many other spare parts for it, more than for me ". He doesn’t see falls as a problem: “ in Misano, I also crashed on both days of testing. The important thing is just to finish the race. It's not so bad if you fall in the sessions. Of course I didn't want to fall, but I tried a very fast trick. I was already three tenths faster than on the medium tire. Maybe I tried a little too hard.". It will be recalled that his teammate has not yet fallen once since he started riding the RS-GP, and he is now faster than him.

But nothing will definitely take away this Friday from the good humor of the Catalan who ends his demonstration thus: “ in the morning and afternoon, I was able to set good times with the racing tires. So everything is good, the race pace is solid ». He also has a word on Maverick Vinales : " here I am faster than him. I fell and was therefore unable to improve my times, but here, in Aragon, it's not a question of speed for me. I'm pretty fast ». It will still be necessary to demonstrate it on Saturday and occasionally on Sunday.

MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix FP2 results:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com