Alcañiz.- “The good thing about having achieved the podium is that you will no longer ask me when I was going to get it. Now you will ask me when the first victory will come”, said Aleix Espargaró after winning the first box for the Noale brand in the MotoGP era and after five years of hard work on the RS-GP project.
When that victory will come is the question. If possible it will be in Aragón, a circuit that Aleix is good at, where he achieved his first podium in 2014 with the Forward Yamaha and where this Friday he was second fastest with an excellent pace.
“Yes, the first victory can come here, why not. Winning is very difficult, many factors have to come together, but why not? We are doing things well, we are working very well and the level of all the riders is very similar except for Fabio (Quartararo), who is one step above the rest. Fabio has been saying for many days that this is not his favorite track and although he has been competitive today he has not been much better than the rest. So anything can happen, we’ve had a good first day and, I repeat: why not”, explained the oldest of the Espargaró brothers.
For the first time Maverick Viñales accompanied Aleix in the Aprilia box, finishing both separated at the end by 8 tenths.
“I think it has been very competitive, they have told me that it has been very far, eight tenths, but in my opinion I don’t see it that way, I think it has been very competitive. You have to take into account that he has lost two or three races and that, from the start, is always a handicap. The level of competition is very high and the moment you lose the train a little it is very difficult to be fast again. After everything that happened, with the change of team, bike and technicians, getting on the bike after only two days of testing and going fast is difficult”, he valued his new workshop neighbor.
Aleix warned that it was not going to be easy for Maverick to be fast from the start and that he will need an adaptation phase.
“And one thing is very clear, and I don’t want to hang medals on myself, but today’s Aprilia is not the Yamaha , nor the Ducati , nor the Honda . It is a bike that works very well, with which things are being done well, but it is not a winning bike, it will take time to understand it and be able to go to the limit as I manage to go to be competitive”.
In any case, Aleix welcomed Mack’s presence as a great encouragement.
“Without a doubt, for me it is very important to have someone to compare myself with, to watch videos where I can improve. Maverick already even today did some things better than me, in the change of direction from turn 1 to 2 he held the gas a little more and changed from second to third a little better than me. You can always learn from such a good driver. In the box you perceive the illusion of having two riders with whom they believe they can do great things, the truth is that we are in a very good moment in Aprilia”.
Finally, the rider from Granollers also valued the contribution of a rider who has just gotten off a bike like the M1.
“The Yamaha is the leading bike in the championship with almost three races ahead, and it has to have something good. That’s what I continually try to get out of Maverick, asking him a lot and understanding where we can improve. Anything we can learn from Maverick and his information on Yamaha can help us a lot. He needs a bit of time to finish understanding the bike, but he has already compared some differences to us. We talk a lot and it’s very interesting”, settled the Catalan.
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of the 2021 MotoGP Aragon GP)
