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Aleix Espargarò might have wanted to have a better qualifying than the ninth position just behind Quartararo, but this was not enough to take away his smile at the end of Saturday at Misano. The Spaniard is in fact convinced that he can be a protagonist in the race given his pace, which puts him among the benchmark riders on the track from this point of view.
Today Vinales did better than Aleix in qualifying and in time the increased harmony between Top Gun and the RS-GP has pushed Espargarò to look more and more closely at the work done by Maverick in his garage, so much so as to draw inspiration to modify his bike and find an unexpected balance that was not rewarded just in performance on the flying lap, but which seems to have given Aleix a boost in confidence in view of tomorrow's race.
"I changed quite a lot the bike from yesterday. I made it a little bit longer like Maverick to gain some stability on the brakes. To avoid the sliding. And I gained a lot of stability. I was able to brake later and I was surprised for my pace. I was not really pushing like hell and I was all the time in 32.4 which is very fast. So it's a shame, the qualifying, because I think that the race pace is very strong from both Aprilias."
So you are satisfied.
"I'm happy, I have a better pace than I hoped for. Qualifying did not go as well as it could have been for both Maverick and me, but our potential is very high. The tyres work very well; I think I can be very fast at the end of the race. We have seen that we wear the tyres very little, I think it can be an advantage at the end of the race, we can keep a great pace until the end. Of course, the Ducatis are very fast, but our bike is also not bad. Now their bike is fast even on tracks like Jerez, it's incredible. "
Are you hoping for a comeback tomorrow?
"Every time I have a good result, it has always been because I have also made some great starts. So I know that tomorrow the start of the race will be fundamental. It is possible to gain some positions. Last year Bastianini started from the back and made the podium. I can also aim for a comeback. Tomorrow I think I will be ready to risk something more than today. We are not at the end of the world championship, there are many races to go until Valencia and we still need to be careful not to make mistakes ".
Given the excellent pace you have, is it possible to imagine an Aprilia 1-2?
"I hope that Maverick and I can get away. It's possible, I'd sign for that."
Usually this sort of qualifying conditions is not to your liking.
“When I left pitlane I felt a mix of angry and disappointed. Because to ride in these conditions is very tricky, very dangerous. I touched a white line in the first lap and almost flew. So I tried to focus and make no mistakes, go as fast as possible but without risk. And maybe I had to risk a little bit more because ninth place is not good.”
You are just behind Quartararo in qualifying, in any case it is an opportunity to snatch points from him.
“My guys said, ‘Fabio is in front of you’. But I don't care. This is a very special GP. I want to finish on the podium because it’s the home race of Aprilia. I know that if I want to fight for the championship, I need to finish on the podium. So this is what I’m aiming for.”
With the rain, how do you see yourself tomorrow?
"It really depends on the type of rain. Difficult to predict. Oliveira went out immediately with the slicks today, he took a risk. But obviously if it rains tomorrow, I will have to risk a bit more because you get the points, not today. Starting in 8th or 4th is not much different. It’s the race that counts. "
Will tyre wear lead to any particular racing strategies?
“I don't think that it will be a strategic race. You can go full gas from lap 1 to the end and this is something that didn't happen in a long time. I don't know if the Ducatis will choose the soft rear tyre, but with the medium, I started this morning with 19 laps and on lap 27 I did 32.5. The degradation is very low. No drop of the tyre. So I'm very happy about this.”
