MotoGP, Aleix Espargarò: "I didn't lap as much as I wanted to, but I tried a lot of new things."

Aleix Espargarò flew to Malaysia to take part in his first session as a Honda test rider, and ended with a 1'58"103, valid for a third overall placing in the Shakedown, where Yamaha showed signs of recovery.

"I practically never got off the bike because, after the Barcelona test in November, I was in Jerez, Thailand, and now here. It's clear that I have a task and that I have a lot of work ahead of me to do. Personally, I'm trying to do my best and take advantage of the time available on the track to help the official team," the former Aprilia rider said in an interview with MotoGP.com. "Unfortunately, I couldn't ride much because the first day was Nakagami's turn and, in the second, we had rain. Consequently, I could only take full advantage of the third day, in which I still had the chance to try many new parts, so I'm satisfied."

The Spanish rider won't be present when the big boys will be revving up their engines, but soon he'll be back on the bike. "I'll be going to Portimão in a couple of weeks, then I'll return to Jerez, and then I'll be leaving for Valencia. These sessions will be crucial to improve the level of the bike," he considered.

As mentioned, sharing the work with the 35-year-old was Takaaki, who revealed a backstory about the Malaysian tests. "We shared the Buriram test with Alex while, instead, I wasn't scheduled to be in Sepang. The team then told me to join the group and, even if on paper I was only supposed to do one day, I actually rode a day and a half. Mostly, we tried to prepare the best package for the officials to use later. We focused on balance, chassis, engine, and many other aspects. It was challenging, but good," the Japanese rider concluded.