The Aprilia rider hoped to surprise the Ducatis and take pole position that finally eluded him, partly due to a loss of confidence due to a crash in FP4, the last free practice session that takes place just before qualifying.
In the end, Aleix Espargaró will start fourth, from the second row of the grid, and he is not ruling out the fight for victory.
“I thought I could fight for pole position, everything is very tight in this circuit and in the end I finished one tenth”, he explained.
“I made a small mistake in the morning, suffering a crash in free practice four just before the time trial, and I lost a bit of confidence, especially in the last sector. I lacked a tenth to be able to fight for pole with Pecco”, he lamented.
For Aleix, this will be the first race he has started outside of the front row since Austin.
“Obviously after having managed to start in the front row for the last six races you want to stay in front, but starting fourth I think it’s a good position too”, he assessed.
The most important thing now is to choose the right tire for the race and have the pace to withstand the attacks of Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia.
“The race pace with the rear hard tire between Pecco, Fabio and myself is quite similar, I think it will not be a speed problem, it will be more about trying not to destroy the tyre. Although the race distance is always more or less the same, with 30 laps the left side of the tire is destroyed, so we must not only be very fast, but also keep the tire”, settled Aleix, who in Barcelona complained that they had been too conservative saving tire in the race.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
