The Spaniard arrived at the Red Bull Ring 22 points behind Fabio Quartararo, the leader of the general classification, and was 32 behind the Frenchman, while Pecco Bagnaia, the third, cut 15, remaining only 12 behind him.
The three consecutive victories of the Italian from Ducati, combined with the delicate moments that Espargaró and Quartararo have gone through, result in an increase in voltage in the brawl for a World Cup that is increasingly open, and that still has to distribute 175 points divided into seven grand prizes.
Spielberg was anticipated as a scenario for Aprilia if we take into account the strengths and weaknesses of the prototype of the Noale brand. The difficulties that the Catalan faced in the rehearsal sessions, including a fall and his passage through the first timed sieve, were the most evident proof of this. As if that wasn’t enough work, choosing the softer rear tire was a long shot. And to top it off, a problem in the front height adjuster – the fork did not go down – left him exposed at the moment of the start, in which he lost several positions (he started ninth).
With all these setbacks, Espargaró managed to wriggle through the peloton until he placed fifth, very close to Quartararo, first, and Jorge Martín, later.
However, as the laps passed, his rear tyre, which was very demanding in the early stages, began to lose consistency, turning him into easy prey for Luca Marini (fourth) and Johann Zarco (fifth).
“This time I didn’t have the pace of the best, but I did half a race with them. It would have been very difficult to do better with this bike
I rolled over the limit in every corner. It’s a shame that Pecco and Fabio finished first and second, but I’m proud of the race I did”, summed up the man from Aprilia, who urges the Italian factory to solve the problem with the front fork that hurt him at the start, one of the most decisive moments.
“I couldn’t nail it at the start and I lost a lot of positions. It hadn’t happened to me all year, but it happened here on Saturday and it happened again in the race. It obviously pissed me off a lot. I lost a lot of ground, because without that system the power delivery values are not adequate. After that, with the soft rear rubber, I pushed a lot to recover positions and it ended up destroyed, without traction and skidding a lot on the straights”, said the #41, who was left without weapons due to those traction problems, and for those who dragged in braking. “All weekend it was very difficult for me to stop the bike, and we tried everything, with changes in geometry and weights”, Espargaró clinched.
