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The first appointment between Andrea Dovizioso and Aprilia took place on the Jerez asphalt, and there could not be a more romantic place for a rider. They both turned up in dark suits and got together in the presence of the men from Noale, who had prepared the RS-GP for the meeting. Then they left them alone, giving them time to get to know each other, to unveil their hand, to overcome the shyness of the first time. Those minutes in which the spark can flare up, either love at first sight, or the realization that they are not made for each other…
Absolute secrecy surrounds what happened in the last few hours at Jerez, but GPOne was able to get to know Andrea's first impressions once he got off the RS-GP. Those first emotions that, like it or not, you carry around with you… and they were positive.
“It's an easy bike” said Dovi after the first outing. A comment that comes from instinct, which will have to be confirmed in the coming days, but which nevertheless put a smile on the faces of the Aprilia men. After all, Dovi has enough experience to immediately understand what awaits him. In recent years he has tamed the Ducati, but before that he had ridden the Yamaha and the RS-GP seems to remind him more of the latter: a bike that is therefore effective in corners.
Having said that, Andrea wanted to respect the timing, without forcing the pace. Today he focussed above all on finding a good position on the bike, he worked a lot on ergonomics, making very short exits, of a few laps each. After all, he was on a completely new bike and he hadn't ridden a MotoGP bike for months, so he didn't want to push things too much. There was no point in looking for fast times on the stop-watch, because today was not the day to find or approach the limit. There will be time for that tomorrow, and then again on Wednesday.
Despite this, already in the afternoon, Dovi began explaining his impressions to the technicians: chassis, gearbox, engine, as usual he was very analytical in providing them with information. In the end, he seemed to like the Aprilia and there could be no better news than that after a day of testing marked by small steps, without any particular rush.
The curiosity now becomes even greater to find out if his judgment will be confirmed when he starts to get serious, and to understand what the Aprilia-branded MotoGP bike is capable of. It’s a bit early to talk about engagement, but the two like each other. If they are roses they will bloom, spring is the season of love…
