The good sensations on Friday did not translate into a Saturday to remember for Aleix Espargaró, 10th in qualifying and 9th in the Sachsenring Sprint race. It turned out to be completely different from the expectations of the Spanish rider, embittered both by the position on the grid and by a bad start, which conditioned his race from lights out, when the Catalan closed in on Quartararo with an inexplicable swerve to the right.
“It was my mistake, I went too far to the right. We are testing a new clutch and a new launch control, I was concentrated on the clutch and I didn't even realize what I had done until I saw the video in the garage. I had a bad start, the rider behind was much faster than me and I crossed his trajectory. It was my fault, you can't do this kind of thing", admitted Aleix candidly, drawing up a very unflattering balance of his race and the Aprilia starting device.
“The race was shit. I’m very frustrated because of the qualifying. I had really good speed, I was aiming to fight for the pole and I had two yellow flags in qualifying on my last two laps when the track was drier. So, starting from 10th with the worst launch control of the grid is almost impossible. The pace was not bad, I overtook many positions, a lot of riders in front of me, but it doesn’t matter. It’s difficult when you start that far back - underlined the Spaniard - We're working hard on launch control, but there haven't been any improvements so far. We are trying different systems, but the time always stays the same and that’s how the race went. Every weekend there are bikes with a slower pace than ours, who beat us at the start, the pressure skyrockets and so it's difficult to ride. All of us Aprilias are doing really badly in the championship. I've been first in almost every session in the last three or four races, but always far from the position we should be in."
Could it be the fault of too much load on the front?
“We have a lot of downforce, that’s for sure. Everybody has a lot of downforce, but everybody has the same. MotoGP now, and I don’t want to blame MotoGP, but it’s boring - said Espargaró – Everything is about the qualifying, then you can do a good race, because all the fresh air that you get, the bike can be a lot faster, is a lot easier. If you are far back in the grid, even if you have strong pace, it’s very difficult. It’s frustrating. It’s all about the qualifying and the start.”
While the Aprilias are struggling in the middle of the group, the Ducatis are flying in the hands of Bagnaia and a Martin who has clearly recovered in the last few races.
“For me, Martin has more speed and more potential than Bagnaia. At the moment Pecco is the better rider, because his number certifies the fact that he is number 1 in the championship. But in my opinion Jorge is faster. The first thing he has to do is find stability. He is doing it and from this point on he will certainly be able to improve his speed. He is a very fast, talented rider and in my opinion he can fight for the championship" commented the Catalan, not entirely convinced however that the Madrilenian can really put his hands on the title: “He has the same bike, but not the same team as Pecco and we'll have to see how Ducati will handle it if they want to let a rider from a satellite team win the title. But that's not my job."
However, one of his duties is to present his opinion to the Safety Commission, where the Aprilia rider has levelled harsh criticism of the new race weekend schedule.
“I do my job. I do everything I can to improve, I go to all the Safety Commissions and I'm pushing for a more relaxed Friday, because it's impossible to continue in the direction the championship has taken - underlined Aleix - It's not possible that at every Grand Prix there are two or three riders in hospital. For this I am trying to put pressure and I hope that there will be some changes to the program soon. I can't speak for the other riders, but I'm doing my job and the others can do what they want."
One of the topics that could not fail to be discussed was the accident in FP2, which saw Zarco and Marc Marquez as protagonists.
"We talked about it. We also talked about what happened between Maverick and Alex. It is evident that it was a racing incident. It's not the first time, but I'm 100% sure it's 100% the fault of the rider who was rejoining the track. There is nothing to discuss here. The rider who is on the track and pushing to the limit doesn't have to do anything. If there are blue flags it means that someone is coming faster and this must be respected by closing the gas - the 33-year-old pointed out - I don't see what there is to discuss here, because you can blame someone for apologizing or not, but not the action in itself. We must invite the riders to pay attention and respect the blue flags, as was done three years ago with the yellow flags, which were not respected by anyone, while now everyone slows down".
After all, the blue flags are more than enough signalling for Aleix, who rejects the idea of using green and yellow lights to warn of danger when exiting the pitlane.
“We are not idiots. Well, some are, but we don't need green and red lights. There are three marshals waving the blue flags: one at the start, one in the middle and one at the end. If someone is coming, wait. What happened can happen, it's an accident but it's certainly not Marc's fault" said the Aprilia rider, equally convinced that participation in the Safety Commission shouldn't be imposed on riders: "I love the Safety Commission, I think it's a brilliant idea and I thank the championship for giving us the opportunity to have our say, but you should go only if you feel at ease. I have always gone to all of them, even when I was injured. As mentioned, I'm making pressure for the program to be changed."