TOP-10 BOTH ON THE DRY AND WET FOR ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
GOOD FEELING ON THE APRILIA RS-GP AT JEREZ FOR SAM LOWES
Two practice sessions in opposite conditions opened up the MotoGP weekend at Jerez de la Frontera. In fact, the morning FP1 sessions were accompanied by intermittent rain that left the Spanish track wet for the entire time. Aleix Espargaró demonstrated excellent harmony with his Aprilia, maintaining a good pace and finishing the session with the seventh best time, just seven tenths behind the best. Sam Lowes approached the treacherous session a bit more cautiously, waiting for the conditions to stabilize in order to gain confidence on the damp asphalt. In the eight laps Sam did, he earned eighteenth place.
FP2 was dry, with the track improving but some damp patches still hindering the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders. It was precisely in a slippery area just off the line where Aleix fell victim to a harmless crash during a promising lap, but he was able to restart almost immediately with his second RS-GP. The rather different settings did not give the Spanish rider the same feeling, but he still managed to finish in the top 10 (ninth place at +1.059). Sam Lowes is improving, especially in terms of his feeling in the saddle. Only a few problems in the final stage when he was trying to improve his time on a new tyre kept him from moving up a few positions in the standings.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“This morning in the wet I felt really good. It has been a while since I have been that fast in those conditions. The crash in FP2 was my mistake. I went a bit off the line and hit a wet patch. It was a pity because the two bikes are set up differently. When I had to restart with the second bike, the conditions were not right for that type of setup. I did not have the same feeling, especially with the front end, but tomorrow with a dry track times will improve a lot, so we will be able to continue our practice schedule.”
SAM LOWES
“I had very good sensations in the saddle straight away on this track, so I think that tomorrow we will be able to make a significant improvement and do a good job on the bike. In FP2 I was a bit nervous because I did not have any experience with the Michelin tyres in such mixed conditions, with damp patches on the track, but the weather forecast for tomorrow is good, so I am confident that we will be able to take some big steps forward. We will keep working in particular to improve the way the bike behaves in the fastest sectors of the track.”
