The last three races have consistently seen Aleix Espargaró in the top ten. After his eighth place last weekend, now a step forward must be taken. The Spaniard is well aware of this and he wants to do well in Austria: “The Austrian track is a strange one, very different from all the others on the calendar – he commented – Last year I had fun here. It is a track where the engine counts for a lot.”
However, he is convinced that his RS-GP will not let him down: “With the steps forward we have made recently during the Brno weekend I am confident – he added – I am truly curious too because already last year the Aprilia RS-GP had a good pace here and did one of its most competitive races of the season and I expect to be strong."
And let’s not forget about Sam Lowes. The first part of the season has doubtless left a bitter taste in the Brit’s mouth, but perhaps the worst seems to be behind him: “During the Brno tests we did a lot of work in view of this race – he pointed out – he initial part of braking is where I still struggle to get the best out of the RS-GP, but I think that the tests on Monday helped us to take a big step forward.”
Lowes does not mince words: “The new technical package Aprilia introduced in the Czech Republic should help us – he concluded – This is a start-and-stop track where braking and acceleration are crucial."