APRILIA, AT MOTEGI THE BEST QUALIFIERS OF THE SEASON
AN EXCELLENT BRADL JUST MISSES Q2 BY ONLY 173 THOUSANDTHS
BAUTISTA ALSO DOES WELL, RIDING HIS RS-GP TO THE SIXTH ROW
Motegi (Japan), 10 October 2015 – With the best qualifiers of the season in the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini camp, Stefan Bradl just barely missed out on qualifying for Q2, coming up only 173 thousandths of a second short. In fact, Stefan qualified third in the first session that defines the starting grid with 1’45,432, a position that earned him the thirteenth overall spot and therefore the best position on the fifth row for the start tomorrow. Bautista also did well (sixth in Q1 at 1’45,608), taking the sixteenth spot on the starting grid which means the sixth row for him. These are the best qualifiers for Aprilia since the RS-GP began this rookie season and they demonstrate the good progress that has been made throughout the Japanese weekend.
STEFAN BRADL
“Making it into Q2 today would have been a fantastic result. We came close and we can be pleased with the job we did. Not only because of the excellent lap in Q1, but also because in the last free practice session we achieved an excellent race pace. This morning we worked a lot with used tyres in an effort to solve the problems that have slowed us down lately in the race finale because of a lack of grip. In the afternoon we managed to find some good solutions, even working on the suspension, so I hope that tomorrow we’ll have good weather to be able to ride a good race and earn some points.”
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“This track is quite demanding and it is an important test for everyone. So for us in particular it is an extremely significant test bench. Taking our best qualifiers of the year right here confirms the progress we have made on every front, vehicle, engine and electronics. This progress was made thanks to the hard work both at home and on the track. Even the fine tuning for the race is quite satisfactory for both riders, so all we can do now is wait to see what the weather will bring tomorrow.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“Today was our best qualifying session of the year, without a doubt. We stayed very close to our rivals and it was great to battle for a spot in Q2. A result like this, especially on a track where we had absolutely no points of reference, is extremely positive and it makes us optimistic for the future. Now we are preparing for a race which, as always, will not be easy, but where we know that we have what it takes to fight for a points finish with both riders.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“Lapping in 45 six is really not bad at all, even if I didn’t feel comfortable straight away with the first tyre that slid around on me. The second went much better so I tried to push to the limit but we still need to do some work to improve braking since I am still not able to stop the bike the way I would like to. Now we need to focus on race pace where we need to be more consistent even when the tyre starts to wear. We have the data from today to analyse in order to know which solution to choose. Then, naturally, everyone is waiting to see what the weather will do since the chance of rain seems fairly certain.”
