The Aprilia driver had just set his best time of the day (1.31.333) and was looking, on his 37th lap in the morning, to lower the time even further when he crashed on one of the fastest corners of the circuit, suffering a fracture in the small finger of the left hand, which forced him to end the test before time.
Aleix Espargaró was treated by the circuit doctors, and this week he will undergo a consultation at the Dexeus in Barcelona to rule out a major injury.
“I had a bit of bad luck in the sense that I fell in a very fast corner, and when I entered the gravel my finger moved a little, I have a fracture, but I think it will not condition me. ahead of the Aragon Grand Prix”, explained Aleix.
“In any case, I will have a check-up with Dr. Xavier Mir this week to see if there is anything I can do to improve. They have already seen the X-rays and the fracture is not to operate on the hand, so be patient and rest,” said the of Aprilia, who already in Silverstone suffered a fall and fractured his heel.
Returning to the test, Espargaró was categorical in assuring that they had not tried “anything” to improve the current bike.
“We have tested things for 2023, on Monday before the test I was clear with the engineers and told them that we have to be calm, this year we have a very good chance of making a good final classification of the championship, so we have to continue with the same bike now, which is working well, good circuits are coming for us”.
“We have tested things for the future, new configurations, but in principle we are not going to use anything that we have tested here in Aragon.”
Focused on testing things for 2023 Aleix believes there is room for improvement.
“On Tuesday I tried an aerodynamic package that changes the bike a lot, it goes better, but it makes it more physical to ride. But I liked it a lot. At the engine level I expect some improvement, we need it, but there is nothing. I hope it in Valencia But I don’t think we will have the final 2023 bike until the Malaysian test in February next year.”
Curiously, Honda put on the track on Tuesday an aerodynamic silhouette that was very reminiscent of that of Aprilia.
“It really is nothing more than a pride that a factory as big as Honda has wings, a fairing and many things that look like the Aprilia. It is a pride for all the Noale engineers, they are doing a very good job, Maverick Viñales does not stop making podiums. It is a pride, without a doubt, that the largest factory in the championship pays attention to us”, settled the one from Granollers.
