The second-placed rider in the MotoGP World Championship overall, Aleix Espargaró, arrived in Misano with the uncertainty of knowing that this is a circuit in which he has never been extremely good, in which he could suffer, but at the end of the day the Aprilia rider He was happy with his performance.
“To be honest I finished this first day satisfied, I came to Misano with some doubts, it has not been my best circuit in the past, it has always cost me a lot but this time I have been very competitive, especially with the race tire (medium ), I went fast and I managed to get first. With the soft tire I wasn’t fast, I didn’t like it that much and with it the Ducati have improved a lot, but with the average we went very well and together with Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo I think we have been the fastest”, explained the Aprilia rider, who did not look worse than the Frenchman from Yamaha.
“I think we have had a similar rhythm with the medium tire, it is true that Fabio has dropped to 31.8 and I have done more 32.1, but Maverick has also done a 31. I think that the two Aprilias, along with Quartararo, have been very competitive with the medium rubber. Then the Ducati with the soft tire have taken a step and it seems that they are faster, but I think there is a lot of equality”.
Despite this, Aleix is clear that they will all be strong rivals for this race in Misano.
“Everyone. In the end I still don’t think about the championship, I think more about doing well, about getting back on the podium, about winning. I don’t care who the strongest are, Fabio is very competitive and the Ducati are strong, so we have to see how things unfold on Sunday.
Pecco Bagnaia, the Ducati rider who is third overall and has accumulated three consecutive victories, closing the gap with Aleix who is second in the table behind Fabio, was sanctioned with three positions on the starting grid of the race for hindering to another driver after the first practice of the day, a detail that can help on Sunday.
“Zero, nothing, it won’t matter at all, in the end everything is ordered. Unless the fifth throws it, nothing will happen, the positions will be ordered quickly.”
The curious thing about the case is that for a very similar action, a few races ago, Jack Miller received a long lap penalty, much harsher than three positions on the grid.
“I was also expecting a long lap penalty, but according to what they told me, the first time you incur a situation like this, there are three places on the grid, while the second time you get the long lap. What you have to see now is If Miller before that long lap had a penalty of three positions on the grid. If so, they have done well, if they have not done, once again, what they wanted. What we want and ask is that the same script in the sanctions”, settled the boy from Granollers.
