English
Italiano
Aleix Espargarò had clear ideas. The Spaniard's main goal for Saturday was to avoid a qualifying session like that of Qatar. This time the Aprilia rider made no mistakes, entering Q2. Tomorrow he'll start from the third row, with the eighth time, alongside Valentino Rossi.
“I'm pleased and proud with my performance in qualifying. I hoped for a dry session, seeing as we had various things to try ahead of tomorrow. We've very close to the top riders anyway, compared to Qatar, especially as we hadn't tested with the Aprilia in these conditions before now”.
You won't start from the back like in Qatar
“Compared to Losail I'll have less riders to get past at the start, so I hope to get away well, aware that there are some very fast guys. I'll have to stay calm in the early stages, because we know that in the second half the Aprilia will be competitive. The hard tyre has proved to be highly performing and I'm confident”.
It was a fairly positive Saturday.
“In FP4 we had some problems, but I was able to improve, finding a stable bike, able to offer me the right confidence”.
What's different compared to the Suzuki?
“The Aprilia has a more powerful engine that is also smoother. The stability at the front is another positive, as it gives me confidence in this situation”.
Tomorrow the tyres will be an unknown.
“We have three solutions for the rear that we're working with. The race will be long and the second half is tough for everyone, everyone has also struggled with electronics. The most likely tyre option is probably the hard, but we still have to see’.
What kind of race do you expect?
“Starting from eighth definitely makes it easier, I don't have to take so many risks. We're aware of our potential in the second half of the race, seeing as in Qatar we made up a second per lap in the last 5-6 laps”.
