ONLY A TECHNICAL PROBLEM HALTED MAVERICK’S BRILLIANT RACE

It was expected to be a battle of nerves and it lived up to expectations. The blazing German asphalt of the Sachsenring hosted a tactical race where the riders had to deal with never before seen conditions for this circuit.

Constantly battling with grip, Aleix fended off Miller’s attacks throughout the race until a few laps from the end, with nerves of steel on braking sections despite a less than perfect feeling with the front end. The only thing that kept him from yet another well-deserved podium finish was a late braking move on turn one that made him go wide and threw him off his line. Today’s fourth place in no way diminishes Espargaró’s run for the championship, where he is still solidly in second place overall.

Maverick also rode a brilliant race, starting from the ninth spot on the grid and extremely incisive in the first stage of the race with clean and decisive overtaking and a very fast pace. This was partially due to the choice of the medium tyre on the rear, a solution that Maverick preferred and intended to manage all the way to the chequered flag. Only a technical problem with rear height device on the nineteenth lap halted what had been an outstanding race up to that point for him.

The collateral damage of this circumstance is that Aprilia lost the lead in the teams championship, but the Italian team has their sights set on taking it back as early as next weekend in Assen.

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"Unfortunately today I had a strange vibration at the front from the first lap which then got progressively worse. At a certain point of the race, I had to slow the pace, changing my riding style and not exploiting the RS-GP’s strong points. It’s a pity because, even though I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Fabio, I definitely had the pace to battle with Zarco. With the way things went, I’m pleased with fourth because in spite of riding badly and without confidence, I was still able to limit the damage. I’m not too worried about the lost points; right now, Fabio’s form in the race is what should be pushing us to find more speed."

MAVERICK VIÑALES
"I had fun today. I started well, coming through the first corner without losing positions, and then I was able to be aggressive, overtaking until catching up with Aleix. At that point, I caught my breath, knowing that the final laps would have been difficult, so I was saving my strength and the tyre. I don’t know if I would have been able to overtake Aleix but, continuing at that pace, I would have tried. It’s a shame about the problem with the height device. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do, so I preferred boxing so I wouldn’t be a danger to other riders. In any case, I’m happy. Our improvement curve is consistent and I feel like I’m close to the turning point of the season."

TYRE WEAR AND RACE PACE ARE THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE

The Friday practice sessions on the Sachsenring, in Germany, had both Aprilias finishing the day with a provisional top-10 position. This result has particular value as it was achieved in spite of concentrating efforts on preparation for the race on Sunday. Thirty laps which, due to the high temperatures predicted, promise to be extremely gruelling.

Aleix shone in both sessions, finishing fourth in the combined standings at a gap of just two tenths. However, by the Granollers native’s own admission, there is plenty of margin to be explored. This will be the clear goal tomorrow, where some time will need to be shaved off in order to go straight through to Q2.

Maverick also performed well, finishing the day eighth. He did a lot of testing and, like his teammate, he took the new aerodynamics solution developed by the Aprilia techs and already tested on the Monday after Barcelona onto the track. 

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
"As for how things went today, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the race straight away and then head off on holiday! All joking aside, we did good work today. Tyre choice and management seem to be particularly important here and, from this point of view, I was able to be fast on the hard rear. I made a few mistakes on the time attack but, despite this, I did three laps at  20.2 and that’s not at all bad. We can improve further but I can consider myself satisfied with this start."

MAVERICK VIÑALES
"I’m pleased above all with the information we were able to gather today. We have already identified a couple of points where we need to improve. I need a bit more stability. I had a good pace on the medium tyre but here, as always, shooting for a qualifying position on the front two rows will be fundamental. The race will be significantly conditioned by this."

#GermanGP Free Practice. The opening day for round ten of the season sees once again Fabio Di Giannantonio on great form, as he is now consistently in the top ten – at least in the single-lap performance. The series rookie was immediately very comfortable aboard his Desmosedici machine, and his performance gave him the ninth position in the combined times of today’s FP1 and FP2 sessions (1’20.545).
 
Without his race engineer Giribuola, who stayed at home as a precautionary measure after testing positive to Covid-19, Enea Bastianini had a bit more of a difficult time compared to his teammate. The standard bearer of Team Gresini MotoGP still has time to bounce back, starting from tomorrow morning’s FP3 which will be key in order to avoid having to go through Q1. Only a few milliseconds are needed in order to be back among the protagonists. 

The road, the bike, the sun: the dream of any motorcyclist when setting off on a trip is that it will be a great one, but the most important thing on the way is to arrive safely and remember a pleasant experience on the road.

For that you have to have everything ok, the motorbike, the tyres and something very important a good windscreen according to the route you are going to do because comfort is everything and few things give more security than a good windscreen on the road.  

Why use a windscreen?

The motorcycle windshields may not look very stylish on your motorbike, but when you're out on the road, wind, rain, insects and even a few rocks come along, this gadget will save you.

Another vitally important advantage is that when the journey is long and the weather gets rough, especially with strong draughts, we don't have to fight against the wind when riding behind the windscreen, which means we have a better view and are less tired on the journey.

Which windscreen to choose?

We already know why it is important to use this device on our motorbike, but which one is the ideal one for my vehicle? There are several factors that will tell us which one is the best, but above all, what we need it for.

It depends on the journey, the type of riding you have in front of you, whether it is a long or short trip, and whether it is on the road or on dirt roads.

There are several types of windscreens for scooters and motorbikes, but to be more precise we can summarise them in two types. On the one hand, those that are fixed to the scooters, which can be removed, but do not have the benefits of the second type, which are the extendable ones, a much more versatile alternative that will help you to vary their height, adjusting them to make them wider or smaller according to your needs.

And if that's not enough, there are also additional screens and spoilers that fit on top of the windscreens to further increase protection.

Our recommendation? If you're going on a long journey, the best thing to do is to use a wide, long, fixed windscreen to protect you as much as possible from the elements.

However, if the use is occasional and mostly on close circuits, you can give more importance to the style and wear a small or adjustable one that protects, but also gives a much more aesthetic face to your motorbike. You can see more information on Sabic.

Take note!

Now that we have them in place, how do we clean and care for them? To have an optimal and accurate vision of the road it is necessary that they are impeccable and that is why you should wash them very delicately with neutral soap and a well wrung out damp sponge so that your vision is perfect.

What are they made of?   

They are made of polycarbonate and acrylic materials. The former is much more expensive, but also more resistant, it is very difficult to suffer any breakage from stones or strong wind, while acrylic is cheaper and more susceptible to scratches.

Now you know why windscreens are key to your motorbike, so choose the one you need and go out and explore the world.

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