12th this morning in FP1, Aleix Espargaró's position was not one to roll on the ground: We have already seen the Catalan rider achieve very good performances on the handlebars of his Aprilia during testing sessions, and even in qualifying, before the latter generally disintegrate over the laps of the race.
The Espargaró brothers' pace was, however, promising given track conditions where the Spaniard had previously complained of certain limitations.
But this afternoon, despite still quite delicate conditions with a track with dry trajectories but still numerous areas of humidity, the Aprilia RS-GP driver led his mount to less than a tenth of the time of the leader.
Number 41 will be keen to preserve this result tomorrow in FP3, which could prove to be a more than easy task if, as expected, the rain returns...
Aleix I will espargaro : " A strange day overall. This morning we did a few laps in the rain and that was the first good news for me. In fact, we changed the RS-GP compared to Le Mans, where I didn't feel very good in the rain, and I have to say that I immediately felt more competitive. The bike became more stable and I enjoyed riding it. The first part of FP2 was rather risky with demanding conditions. Usually my heart rate is low, but this afternoon it was beating much faster! The track gradually improved, so towards the end it was almost perfect and the times reflected that. I am satisfied. »
FP2 ranking of the MotoGP European Grand Prix in Valencia:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
