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by Gianmaria Rosati
There was no shortage of surprises today at Misano. Few would have bet on seeing Pol Espargarò at the top of the timesheets, and yet the Spaniard, riding for the Tech3 team, led the way in the afternoon after finishing second in the morning's sessions. And all this, we should remind you, less than one week after his terrible accident at Silverstone.
You couldn't have got off to a better start, how are you feeling?
"It's a strange feeling. I'm usually somewhere around tenth position while today I was the fastest. I don't know why, but here at Misano I feel really comfortable with both the track and the bike. Perhaps it's down to the Michelins but, above all, I think it's down to our hard work. With the hard front tyre I can be fast over both race distance and the flying lap without exceeding the limit, and this is also strange”.
So the Silverstone incident hasn't had any effect.
“Luckily I had no real injuries, only a slight pain in my leg that I can't even feel on the bike. I can't really remember the accident very clearly, only that I was somewhere between Baz and Petrucci, with Danilo slightly ahead of me. I tried to pass him but, before he realised it, I was up on the inside and made contact, ending on the ground. Fortunately, nothing serious happened, as Loris' injury was minor when you consider the accident, and I'm fine”.
What tyre combination allowed you to go so fast?
“This morning we used the softest compound, while in the afternoon we started with the hard at both the front and rear. After just a fewllaps I went back to the soft rear that I used in FP1, because I had almost zero confidence with the hard. I think that the soft - hard combination was positive, and can be the right choice also for the race”.
What do you have to say about the situation between your brother and Valentino?
“A rider who is slow can be an obstacle for others, and this is a problem that should be discussed in the safety commission. Valentino clearly considered Aleix to be an obstacle, but I think his reaction was over the top. The same thing happened between Vinales and Pedrosa, but there wasn't this level of disagreement between them”.
