The official qualifying time became a handicap for Aleix Espargaró, who after leading FP3 and finishing fourth in FP4, found it difficult to get a lap in Q2 that was beyond the fifth fastest time, just one tenth from the first grill row.
That forces the Aprilia rider to make a brilliant start if he doesn’t want Pecco Bagnaia, who starts from pole, and Fabio Quartararo, who starts second and in the last two races won on the run and stood out, to escape him.
With a soft rear tire, one of the options for the race along with the hard one, Aleix Espargaró showed a very good pace, especially for the final part of the race, scheduled for 26 laps.
“I’ve done 21 laps on the (soft) tire and it’s been good, I saw on the board a 1:32.4 at the end of that run and that’s going really fast here in Assen, I think I’ve done nine laps in 1:32 and last year in the race only one rider, Quartararo, and with the soft, he did two laps in that second, it’s strange. With the hard compound Fabio and Pecco have also gone very fast in FP4, but with new rubber. The pace we have is good”, explained Aleix.
“I had the idea of trying six laps on the medium and another six on the soft, but Antonio (Jiménez, his crew chief) asked me if I was comfortable on the soft, [that] I push until the end. I’ve seen that the rubber hasn’t fallen on seven, neither on nine, and I’ve decided to go all the way. Last year, Marc Márquez and Takaaki Nakagami had a very good race here on the soft, so I’ve decided to insist because the medium didn’t suit me. It gave good sensations”, he justified his choice.
However, many drivers admitted this Saturday that tomorrow in the warm up they will test the hard rubber to finish ensuring the shot of choice.
“I’ll try the hard one tomorrow, but it has to go very well to do so many laps in 1:32. There were many races where you couldn’t do all the laps at full throttle with the tires and here it seems that it can be done, that There will be no problem with tire consumption, and that is very positive”.
Above all, considering that in recent races, the supplier was very insistent that the tires be taken care of at the beginning of the tests, especially in Barcelona and Sachsenring, while Quartararo ignored it, went to death from the beginning and won with much advantage.
“That is so, but that speaks to the confidence that Fabio has in his bike. In Barcelona, it was my mistake, I kept on at the beginning, the tire did not fall and I lost the race in the first few laps. In contrast, in Germany there was a lot tire consumption and I reached the end without traction. The Yamaha seems to have something more than us at the end of the race, but here the tire does not fall on me and I think I will be able to be fast in the final part, hopefully I can stop it “.
The one from Aprilia looks to be in the fight with those in front.
“I hadn’t had such a good feeling for many races, even in races where I got a podium, like at Le Mans or Mugello, I didn’t have such a good feeling like this weekend, I was fast and constant in all the laps, the problem is that Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi got in front, so we have to try to overtake them quickly, but I think I have a very good pace”.
Aleix is second overall with 138 points, 34 behind the leader, Fabio Quartararo (172), so it is difficult not to think about it when facing the race.
“It is very important at this point in the championship to stay ahead of Fabio and cut points from him, I would very much like to go on vacation less than a grand prix away (25 points)”.
An objective for which Pecco Bagnaia could be key, who starts from pole and will have to try to prevent the Frenchman from escaping as in Montmeló and Sachsenring.
“We have to stop Fabio no matter what, we can’t let him get away at the beginning, otherwise the race is lost. Our job is to stop him from the start, because if not, then you won’t catch him. I have a very good pace in the final laps, maybe better than him, but if when you get there he already has two seconds ahead of you, it’s impossible to catch him”, settled the one from Granollers.
