There will be a few more people than usual in MotoGP this weekend on the starting grid. As for Catalonia, where the Montmeló track will host the seventh meeting of the season, both Suzuki and Aprilia have decided to come with their entire squad. Which means three motorcycles respectively. But the men of Noale will not have the same ambitions as those of Hamamatsu…
The Aprilia factory is indeed preparing to face another difficult weekend, where it will have to grit its teeth and continue the development of the RS-GP. It will be a three-pronged attack with Bradley Smith who will be on the track as a wildcard alongside the official drivers Aleix Espargaró et Andrea Iannone.
After Qatar and Jerez, there will in fact be three RS-GPs in the race. Aleix Espargaró has double the points after the first six races compared to last year. He complains of serious shortcomings in terms of grip and acceleration. Montmeló is a very demanding track from this point of view, despite an asphalt resurfaced in 2018.
« After the home Grand Prix for Aprilia, the home Grand Prix for me is coming " said Aleix Espargaro. " Our first objective remains, as always, the top 10. A result that we show we deserve in the race. On Sunday I feel fast and I can keep a good pace while we suffer a little more in qualifying. It is precisely for this reason that we must work on consistency, to arrive strong in the race and with a good rhythm to play our cards ».
Andrea Iannone is more interested in the development of the Aprilia RS-GP than in the results. Despite the difficult situation, the Maniac does not give up and has great confidence in the Noale technicians: “ our weekends are always very difficult, because we try different solutions. This causes us to be a little fluctuating, but that's part of the game. Now the goal is to improve day by day. I have the support of the team and Aprilia Racing »concluded the Vasto pilot « and I know that everyone is doing their best to reach the level that we can count on ».
« As far as I'm concerned, it will be important to immediately start working on grip " has explained Bradley Smith. " Barcelona is perhaps the worst circuit from this point of view, and it is an excellent test bed for improving RS-GP performance. It will be a long weekend, including post-race testing, and I'm happy to be back with such a busy schedule ».
As for the Englishman, the MotoGP test overlaps with that of Valencia MotoE, which takes place from Monday to Wednesday. Smith will compete in the new electric motorcycle championship which begins at the Sachsenring in July on behalf of the Sepang team.
