Although saddened by the recent death of Aprilia founder Ivano Beggio, and although the brand has belonged to the Piaggio Group since 2003, the team currently led by Romano Albesiano has done the best it can to highlight the colors of the Noale manufacturer with Aleix Espargaro and his new driver Scott Redding.
Aleix set the thirteenth time of the first session in 1'56.313, 0.947 behind leader Andrea Dovizioso, while Scott placed eighteenth with a time of 1'57.115, 1.749 behind.
During the second run, Espargaro moved up to twelfth position with a time of 1'55.236, 0.875 behind Dovizioso. On the other hand, it was interesting to note that he was only 0.041 behind eleventh placed Maverick Vinales. Redding for his part obtained sixteenth place in 1'55.718, 1.357 behind Dovi.
According to Alex Espargaro, “I am very happy with the day. After a winter of ups and downs, the first sensations here in Qatar have been good.
“The evolution of the engine, which has not been revolutionized, has proven to work well in general. This allows me to ride with a style very close to my needs, whereas previously I had to accelerate with the bike still very leaning.
“As far as the configuration for the race is concerned, we are quite close to the leaders. We lost a few positions in the last attempt with a soft tire. To achieve a lap time, even when pushing to the limit, we are still struggling to get the most out of the tire compared to the other drivers.
“We will work on it especially in the technical debriefing today, because although our pace is promising, we cannot sacrifice qualifying. »
To Scott Redding, “Today's sessions once again confirmed how tight times are this year. It really takes very little to make a big difference.
“I am satisfied with our first day. The evolved engine works well, but overall I think we can still improve a little.
“Compared to the tests, I have less feeling at the front, even when testing different tires, and I feel more the dips in the track, to the point of risking locking the front a few times. If I can increase my braking confidence, I'm sure I can take a step forward. »
First day ranking:
1 4 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'55.366 12 1'54.361 15
2 9 D.PETRUCCI ITA Alma Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'56.076 10 1'54.367 14 0.006 0.006
3 42 A.RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'55.997 16 1'54.458 19 0.097 0.091
4 99 J.LORENZO SPA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'55.888 9 1'54.831 15 0.470 0.373
5 29 A.IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'55.816 17 1'54.841 19 0.480 0.010
6 93 M.MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'55.743 17 1'54.850 15 0.489 0.009
7 26 D.PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'56.265 17 1'54.851 17 0.490 0.001
8 35 C.CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda CASTROL HONDA 1'55.989 9 1'54.852 15 0.491 0.001
9 46 V.ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'55.427 16 1'54.853 15 0.492 0.001
10 5 J.ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'55.943 15 1'54.912 18 0.551 0.059
11 25 M.VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'56.130 19 1'55.195 16 0.834 0.283
12 41 A.ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'56.313 11 1'55.236 13 0.875 0.041
13 53 T.RABAT SPA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'56.111 17 1'55.308 16 0.947 0.072
14 43 J.MILLER AUS Alma Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'56.680 16 1'55.360 16 0.999 0.052
15 30 T.NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU HONDA 1'57.183 13 1'55.694 18 1.333 0.334
16 45 S.REDDING GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'57.115 13 1'55.718 12 1.357 0.024
17 44 P.ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'56.999 14 1'55.919 13 1.558 0.201
18 21 F.MORBIDELLI ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'57.273 13 1'55.965 15 1.604 0.046
19 12 T.LUTHI SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'57.211 14 1'56.242 12 1.881 0.277
20 38 B.SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'57.389 18 1'56.260 16 1.899 0.018
21 17 K.ABRAHAM CZE Angel Nieto Team DUCATI 1'59.462 9 1'56.394 17 2.033 0.134
22 55 H.SYAHRIN MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'56.544 17 1'56.454 16 2.093 0.060
23 19 A.BAUTISTA SPA Angel Nieto Team DUCATI 1'56.528 14 1'56.990 5 2.167 0.074
24 10
Photos © Aprilia
