It was a goal and it was achieved. In this MotoGP with heightened competition, entering the top 10 is like a bridgehead towards more if affinities. A level thatAprilia so complimentary to his recruit Iannone with absent subscribers crossed with his soldier Aleix Espargaró. The new RS-GP isn't so bad. And this time, she has clearly detached herself from her nightmare for two years: the KTM RC16…
After the third day of IRTA testing at Sepang, Aleix Espargaro was pleased with his new motorcycle and declared with satisfaction: “ we have a good base ". But the Spaniard also knows where Aprilia still needs to develop.
After the successful race simulation the day before, Aleix Espargaró focused its efforts on chasing the time during the third and final day of testing in Malaysia. The 29-year-old driver from Granollers finished seventh on the timesheet, 0,783 seconds behind the fastest time of the day. Danilo Petrucci. He comments: “ we focused on the lap time with little fuel on board, as we had problems last year in this configuration ».
He specifies: “theThe biggest progress has been made on my position on the bike. We feel much more comfortable and much better than last season. The electronics have also improved. Acceleration out of slow corners, one of our weak points last year, is better. We were able to take a step forward ».
And what is the program for the next tests in Qatar? Aleix reveals: “ it is important to try the 2019 bike on a different circuit to understand it better. So I expect the first day to be a bit of a shakedown. After that, of course, it will be about trying new pieces and preparing for the season. Because the first race of the year is always very important ».
So, what is still missing from the 2019 RS-GP? “ It's a very good bike, because it's an evolution of the 2017 version that I expected to have last year" underlines the one who suffered so much last season which he finished in seventeenth of the championship. “I still don’t know why we made this bike. It was a completely different concept. This year's fits my riding style much better. I can drive aggressively and when I go to the limit with new tires I get good lap times. It's a good sign ».
He ends on speedweek : " the next step is we need to find more power. We worked a lot on the electronics, but if you look at the timesheet with the Ducati riders, it's clear that you need power in MotoGP to be at the front ».
MotoGP, Sepang J3 Test: times
| 1 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP19 | 1:58.239 | ||
| 2 | 63 | Francis Bagnaia | Ducati GP18 | 1:58.302 | 0.063 | 0.063 |
| 3 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP19 | 1:58.366 | 0.127 | 0.064 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP19 | 1:58.538 | 0.299 | 0.172 |
| 5 | 12 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha M1 | 1:58.644 | 0.405 | 0.106 |
| 6 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:58.780 | 0.541 | 0.136 |
| 7 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:59.022 | 0.783 | 0.242 |
| 8 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.141 | 0.902 | 0.119 |
| 9 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:59.148 | 0.909 | 0.007 |
| 10 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.155 | 0.916 | 0.007 |
| 11 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:59.170 | 0.931 | 0.015 |
| 12 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:59.180 | 0.941 | 0.010 |
| 13 | 6 | Stefan bradl | Honda RC213V | 1:59.368 | 1.129 | 0.188 |
| 14 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP18 | 1:59.485 | 1.246 | 0.117 |
| 15 | 36 | Joan mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:59.486 | 1.247 | 0.001 |
| 16 | 20 | fabio quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.497 | 1.258 | 0.011 |
| 17 | 5 | Johann zarco | KTM RC16 | 1:59.640 | 1.401 | 0.143 |
| 18 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:59.751 | 1.512 | 0.111 |
| 19 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 1:59.949 | 1.710 | 0.198 |
| 20 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati GP18 | 2:00.378 | 2.139 | 0.429 |
| 21 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM RC16 | 2:00.766 | 2.527 | 0.388 |
| 22 | 50 | Sylvain Guintoli | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.990 | 2.751 | 0.224 |
| 23 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 2:00.995 | 2.756 | 0.005 |
| 24 | 66 | Mika Kallio | KTM RC16 | 2:01.020 | 2.781 | 0.025 |
| 25 | T2 | Nakasuga/Folger | Yamaha M1 | 2:01.243 | 3.004 | 0.223 |
| 26 | T1 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha M1 | 2:01.719 | 3.480 | 0.476 |
