If we miss his weekend in Thailand, where he finished in 11th position and was only able to regain a few points from fabio quartararo, the current spotlight leaves a little in the shadows Aleix Espargaró for the benefit of the duel which now pits El Diablo against Francis Bagnaia for the world title, we should not underestimate the chances of the Aprilia rider to bounce back in Australia, on a Phillip Island circuit where the RS–GP could pull the chestnuts out of the fire…
Since 2019, the last year when the MotoGP world championship visited the southern circuit, Noale's machine has indeed evolved considerably to appear today among the best, and its rider is impatient to compete again at the highest level.
For this purpose, Aleix I will espargaro banking on the fact that the Aprilia has always worked well on fast circuits…
« Obviously we had difficulty in the dry in Buriram. We improved a bit in the Warm Up at the last moment, but in the wet I wasn't so bad. I think I was able to fight for sixth, seventh place, but obviously with the long lap penalty it was difficult. It was a shame because I lost a lot of points, but anyway, I accept it and move forward with only 20 points behind the leader after Buriram, so I'm looking forward to riding the 'island. I can't wait to try the Aprilia '22 here at Phillip Island because on the fast circuits this year the bike has been very competitive, in Assen, Argentina… Many circuits where you don't use the brakes, and the bike was very competitive. So at this track I think the bike will work really well, and I'm looking forward to trying it because it's a place where you normally like to ride, so I'm looking forward to it. »
Concretely, certain parts of the fast ocean circuit seem more particularly favorable to the Catalan rider, given the developments made by his motorcycle: “ With the support we have this year thanks to the wings, if we compare with 2019, I think the first corner will be better. Likewise, the last corner will be much better, the bike will turn a little more, for sure, it's not really a demanding circuit for the engine, but anyway, this year's bike is much stronger, so in the straight line, too, will be useful. So let's see how the motorcycle works.”
However, there remains the question of the ground effect fairing which has never been tried with a strong wind as it often prevails on the Phillip Island circuit.
« That's an interesting point. We'll have to see, as we haven't flown with this fairing and a lot of wind. Of course this won't be an advantage and we will have to see how much of a disadvantage it will be for us, because in terms of pure performance for turning it is always positive: the bike turns better. So I'm looking forward to riding the bike and seeing how the wind blows over the weekend and then we'll decide. Anyway, we have the other option available, so we'll decide later. »
Finally, it will be necessary to resolve the problem of an excessive attack to climb back into the Championship, without making any mistakes in the last three Grands Prix...
« Yes, which is not easy. Attacking and not making mistakes is not easy, but yes, it's time to let go, it's time to attack, we have to recover some points. Twenty points isn't a lot, but in three races it won't be easy, I'm sure, but I'll do my best. For me now, it's no longer about being consistent but about attacking, trying to race more than ever in the season, and I'm going to try this weekend. »
