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Category: Moto GP
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ON THE NEW ASPHALT AT LOSAIL THE RS-GP MACHINES DO WELL: MAVERICK THIRD, ALEIX FIFTH AND FERNANDEZ AHEAD OF THE REST
The fact that Losail was a track where the RS-GP could express its full potential was easy to imagine, but the unknown of the new asphalt placed an ominous question mark on any predictions. In reality, the Aprilias started well in Qatar, with three riders in the top ten and straight through to Q2.
Ahead of everyone was Raùl Fernandez with his "satellite" RS-GP, a performance that came after a series of good signs from the young Spaniard. Maverick was third, with his best lap (and new track record) nullified by a yellow flag, whereas Aleix was fifth after a harmless crash in the first session.
An overall good performance in the first two sessions of a weekend that promises to be demanding.
ALEIX
"I’m obviously pleased with this start. It’s only Friday – we always say it: there is still much to do. We especially need to analyse the data to understand why the RS-GP works so well in certain conditions. We’ll need to improve on our weak points – essential if we want to battle for a championship title. The new asphalt gradually improved. In the first session, it was rather dirty and deviating from the ideal trajectory was probably what caused my crash. There’s still a question mark on tyre choice. We’ll need to continue working on it tomorrow."
MAVERICK
"Like every Friday, the goal today was to go through to Q2. Being so fast is positive anyway, although we still have a lot to improve on. Tyre management with this new asphalt was an unknown for everyone and whoever works best preparing will have advantages both in the Sprint Race tomorrow and in the Race on Sunday. In any case, the good level of the RS-GP in these conditions is clear if we think about a week ago in Malaysia. This confirms that in MotoGP, you always have to put in the effort and the hard work without ever stopping."
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Team Gresini MotoGP had a great debut day at Lusail, and it was especially the case for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was quick in both today’s session and ended up second quickest in the afternoon’s key practice. There is still work to do for the Rome-born rider, who needs to find a better feeling with the front-end and to get a deeper understanding of how the different tyres behave on the new asphalt.
The yellow flag situations ad the end of the practice session prevented Alex Marquez from earning the direct seed to Q2. The Spanish rider, who worked hard on the bike set-up, will be forced to go through Q1 tomorrow, but the feeling he had this afternoon bodes well.
2nd - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’52.892)
“We did a good job, whie trying to focus on improving the front-end feeling. We need to keep working well and analyse all the tyre options in order to make the best decision for tomorrow’s sprint race and Sunday’s full encounter. We need to decide on whether to gamble on durability or speed. We were quick all day long, but we need to keep working tonight ahead of tomorrow’s sessions. The track is great, maybe the one that has improved the most from previous editions: there’s a lot of grip so it’ll be crucial to know how to play with the tyres.”
12th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (1’53.561)
“The yellow flag situations were like a sentence… especially at the last corner when you get them after pushing hard for the whole lap. We could have comfortably been in Q2, likely lapping in 1’52.9secs, but flags sometimes helps and other times don’t… The track changed a lot from the morning, we worked on the set-up and I’m quite happy. The goal tomorrow is to get into Q2.”
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MAVERICK FINISHES ELEVENTH, ALEIX CRASHES
The Malaysian Sunday in Sepang did not bring the improvements hoped for in the Aprilia camp, where they had to settle for Maverick’s eleventh-place finish. His race was conditioned primarily by being in the most crowded part of the pack where, between overtaking and tyre management, it is difficult to exploit a pace which, on paper, could have earned better results.
Aleix, on the other hand, fell victim to a crash on turn 9 as he was attempting to close the gap from his twelfth-place position. His generosity encountered a less than perfect feeling with the front end, a recurring sensation throughout the weekend, which the technicians will be working on both in view of Qatar and in terms of developing the 2024 RS-GP.
ALEIX
"A weekend to forget, without a doubt. In the warm-up session, we tried a very different setup on the bike and, to be honest, I was fast but I realised straight away that I was closer to the limit with the front end. The most difficult thing to accept is not so much the crash – these things can happen – but rather the gap we had behind the leaders. When I crashed on turn nine I was twelfth, without the pace to even think about a serious comeback. We need to think about this and find a solution to get back to being competitive."
MAVERICK
"It wasn’t a fantastic race, but it was what we could do today. By now we have figured out that, if you’re in the middle of the group, you might even have a good pace, but you aren’t able to fully express it. You have to overtake and not let anyone overtake you and manage tyre temperature – all factors that ultimately limit your overall performance. I’m looking at the positive: a race like this allowed us to collect lots of information. Maybe we won’t be able to use it straight away in Qatar, but the Aprilia engineers will certainly have a lot of data to help them in developing the 2024 bike."
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APRILIA HARD AT WORK TO MAKE A STEP FORWARD IN THE RACE
In a Sprint Race that rewards the top nine riders with points, Maverick’s top-10 finish is meagre consolation. After starting well from the third row, the Aprilia rider had to reckon with the usual chaos on the first turns where some contact and some trajectory changes cost him ground with respect to the leaders. His race, characterised by consistency, is a good starting point for tomorrow where, with twice as many laps to ride, he could easily have the chance to exploit his pace.
As for Aleix, it’s safe to say that his performance today in Sepang suffered from the events of yesterday. Although extremely fast in Q1, the time he did was not enough to send him through to Q2, which he missed by just over a tenth of a second. His fifth-row start had him then maintaining a good pace, but still not enough to allow him to move up any farther than twelfth.
ALEIX
"The good thing is that I got back the "normal" sensations on the RS-GP with the change in settings. My time in Q1 (1'58.069) was the fastest yet for Aprilia in Sepang, but it wasn’t enough to go through to Q2. Starting a bit farther forward would certainly have helped, especially in the Sprint Race, but the fact is that I expected to be faster. We’ll have better chances tomorrow in the long race."
MAVERICK
"I can’t say that I’m disappointed, because I think the result today was the best possible. I had managed to start well, but then in the chaos on the opening corners I lost a few positions and I didn’t have the speed I needed in order to attack. We made a few steps forward on various fronts and we still have the warm-up session to try and find a few tenths. We’ll need to continue working to improve for future races as well."
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MAVERICK IMPROVES IN THE FINALE TO TAKE FIFTH
ALEIX CRASHES OUT AND WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH Q1
It was not a relaxing day in the Aprilia garage, with two particularly lively sessions contributing. On the first day at the Malaysian Sepang circuit, Maverick took advantage of almost every outing to find the right feeling. He finally found it in the afternoon session, where he did the fifth-best time, which sends him straight through to Q2.
Practice sessions were complicated for Aleix, on the other hand, victim of a crash this morning and three more in the afternoon, the last of which left him with some scratches. His lack of feeling with the front has already been analysed and understood by number 41’s crew, which gives Espargaró moderate confidence for tomorrow.
ALEIX
"I’ve definitely had better days, but I can’t say that I’m particularly worried. We are well aware of the problem, so tomorrow we’ll go back to a standard solution and I’m sure I’ll be able to be fast. It will be a demanding Saturday since I have to go through Q1, plus the last crash left me a bit scratched up and that won’t make life easy. We are riders and we know this can happen. The important thing is to know where to make changes."
MAVERICK
"A strange Friday on this track. We know that in the first session grip is usually poor and then it gradually improves, but today I did not have a better feeling in the afternoon. Anyway, in the last time attack with a new tyre, I felt better, so that’s a starting point for tomorrow. We made some comparisons between various systems to improve thermal comfort in the saddle and I must thank Aprilia for their quick response in spite of the little time available. Today the temperatures were not extreme, so it’s difficult to evaluate. We’ll analyse the data and understand more as early as the Sprint Race."
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