The result of the last British GP was doubly historic. On the one hand, it was the first time since 1972 that the six brands present in the championship –Yamaha, Suzuki, Aprilia, Ducati, Honda and KTM– captured the top six positions in a premier class race. On the other hand, it was also the first podium for the Noale brand in MotoGP since the switch to four-stroke engines.
Aprilia is the last of the six manufacturers currently in MotoGP to still hold the concessions, after Ducati , Suzuki and KTM have been losing them in recent years.
However, Aleix Espargaró’s third place at Silverstone subtracted one of the six points that Aprilia had for this section, bringing them closer for the first time to the possibility of losing their privileges in terms of freedom of development and testing.
If it continues to score podiums, or a victory, regularly between now and the end of the season, Aprilia could be forced to freeze development before the first race of 2022 , catching up with the other five brands. However, Espargaró does not see this as something negative and believes that the time has come to do so.
“I don’t like [the concessions]. It was good to have them to improve and get closer. In the end, we have to compete with the same weapons. It’s time to level up and I will do everything to lose the concessions. If we lose the concessions, it means that we have won a race or have done more than three podiums”, said the #41 in the press conference prior to the start of the Aragon GP.
The rider from Granollers (Barcelona) arrives on a roll and does so at a circuit like Motorland where he has achieved some of his best results.
“I have a little more confidence after the result at Silverstone. The podium was important, but also the level in the rest of the circuits, very close to the leading drivers. I feel very relaxed after the podium. I like this circuit and it has I’ve done well on the bike in the past. The weather conditions are better than last year,” he commented.
Espargaró makes his first partner in this grand prix with the arrival of Maverick Viñales, which should raise the level in the box.
“Very happy with this teammate. He arrives at a very good moment for Aprilia. We had been talking for some time about him joining us in the future. The opportunity presented itself. We have a very strong team. The future holds great things for us. Improving from where we are is complicated because the level is high. But it is a beautiful challenge and we are looking forward to facing it”, settled.
