MOTOGP – APRILIA IN THE TOP-10 AT SILVERSTONE
HIS GOOD PACE REWARDS BAUTISTA, TENTH ACROSS THE WIRE
STEFAN BRADL INNOCENT VICTIM OF A CRASH
The English weekend concluded with a top-10 placement for Aprilia. The Silverstone race had a red flag straight away in the first lap due to an accident involving Baz and Pol Espargaró. Following the quick start procedure, hostilities resumed with race distance reduced to 19 laps.
Both Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl got off to a good start when the lights went out, vying for an important placement with a good, consistent pace. However, as he engaged in battle with a few riders, Stefan was the innocent victim of contact that led to a fall, forcing him to retire.
Bautista continued his progress, battling at length with Hernandez and managing to build up a comfortable gap after overtaking him. Managing his tyre wear well, the Spanish Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider demonstrated very consistent performance, moving into tenth place under the chequered flag. This is an encouraging result in view of the upcoming Italian round, scheduled at Misano in seven days.
ROMANO ALBESIANO – APRILIA RACING MANAGER
“Alvaro rode a good race today, considering the difficulties we had in practice and his starting position. As often happens, the RS-GP showed good performance in terms of pace, especially in the second part of the race. Where we are lacking mainly at the moment is the ability to take maximum advantage of the tyre, both in the initial laps and in qualifying. It’s a pity about Stefan’s crash. He had chosen a different from tyre that would probably have been beneficial in the race, given his good sensations. Now we will go to Misano, where we will be able to have a good weekend”.
FAUSTO GRESINI – TEAM MANAGER
“Bautista’s good performance confirms our race potential. It was not easy today after qualifying where we often struggle. I’m sorry about Stefan. The contact with Laverty kept him from achieving an encouraging result. There are positive signals that we must consider, not the least of which is the rather reduced gap behind the leaders. We need to keep working. If we stay focused we will be able to grow quickly and our performance today shows that”.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“There was quite a bit of confusion at the first start. Fortunately, both Pol and Loris are fine. At the second start, I tried to find my pace. We struggled throughout the weekend, but I know that in duels with the other riders I would be able to improve. That is the way it was. I recovered a few positions, battling for a long time then with Hernandez. When I overtook him, I changed an electronics setting on the RS-GP to gain a few tenths and increase the gap. I was successful, thanks to the team and the mechanics who worked hard to give me the best possible bike. I am looking forward to Misano optimistically. Aprilia is on their home pitch, so I hope to give the fans a good performance”.
STEFAN BRADL
“I’m very disappointed because today my feeling on the bike was good. While I was fighting with some guys, Laverty gave me no space to turn, basically making me crash. As I said it’s disappointing, all we can do now is think about Aprilia’s home race in Misano”.
