Portimao.- For the Aprilia rider , the Portuguese Grand Prix could become a great opportunity to recover the leadership that he already achieved, for the first time in his career, after the victory in Argentina and that he lost in a difficult race in Austin a few years ago. two weeks. Enea Bastianini won there, who now leads the general standings with 11 points more than Aleix Espargaró, who is third just behind Alex Rins, who is six points ahead of him.
The good thing is that this Sunday in Portimao, Aleix starts from the front row of the grid, while Gresini’s is 18th and Suzuki’s 23rd. The opportunity is there.
“For me it is not super important to lead the championship at the moment because it is very early, but what is nice is to finish on top. Tomorrow we have a good chance to fight for the podium, with Enea and Alex coming from far behind on the grid. But this is MotoGP, so they may be fighting with the guys in front in a few laps.”
“Anyway, it’s clear that his race will be tougher than mine, so we’ll see. Anyway, Johann [Zarco] is also very close in the championship, Quartararo too, so it’s still early days. But if I have the possibility of recovering the lead in the sixth race, it is because we are fast”, was his conclusion.
An evident and clearly confirmed speed this year with results never seen before in Noale ‘s house and that, moreover, he is capable of achieving in different scenarios, which speaks highly of the Italian machinery.
“I have no doubts that the bike is going well on different circuits, I didn’t have any after Argentina either. Many riders said they had to wait for Europe for the World Championship to start, but for me the championship started in Qatar, in the first race. I was quick everywhere and the bike looks competitive at every circuit.”
Espargaró managed to take advantage of the madness of the last minutes of qualifying to close a very fast lap in conditions that were not easy.
“I hate to say it, but I was scared. The wet spots were really slippery. When you’re in the pits and you see so many crashes in Q1, all of them heavy, you have to be very focused and very confident, but you can’t be.
“So I tried to be patient at the beginning, to get a good feeling with the track, to see where I could push in the last five minutes, and in the end I’m very happy. For me it’s like a victory. I don’t like these conditions, So I’m very happy with the result.”
“I felt very strong in the dry, I have reconfirmed that the bike is very good this year. It is important to start from the front row. The race will be much easier from there, so I hope it doesn’t rain and we can offer a good spectacle”, settled.
