Category: Moto GP

1. APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI - Thailand Qualifying

   Posted on 12:00pm Monday 7th Oct 2019

   FOURTH AND SIXTH ROW FOR THE APRILIAS IN THE GP OF THAILAND

   ALEIX TWELFTH AND ANDREA SIXTEENTH AFTER QUALIFYING
   
   Going straight through to Q2 based on his good placement yesterday when he finished seventh, Aleix Espargaró ended the day in twelfth place with a time of 1’31.258 without improving on his time from yesterday, a placement that earns him a spot on the fourth row of the starting grid tomorrow. On a much-feared circuit, the RS-GP took a clear step forward compared to last year and the good sensations he has had since Friday leave Aleix confident for the race tomorrow.

   Andrea stopped in the first qualifying session (Q1), lapping at a time of 1,31.428 which is a step forward compared to yesterday, but not enough to go through to Q2, which he missed by just 4 and a half tenths.
   
   
   ALEIX ESPARGARO'
   "In qualifying I could have aimed for the top 10. The pace and feeling during the other sessions were good. Unfortunately, with the first tyre I did not have good sensations - it slid around a lot - and with the second I may have gotten a bit carried away in the moment. I pushed hard the entire lap and in the end it didn’t pay off on the time sheets. I expect a very hard race. With these temperatures, you have to manage tyre wear well. I am ready to battle. At the beginning of the weekend I would have signed on the dotted line to have this feeling on one of the most difficult tracks for us."
   
   ANDREA IANNONE
   "We have good potential in the more flowing part of the track. I've been riding behind other riders and we are able to maintain the pace. However, I can’t be fully satisfied, because we are still losing a lot in the first two sectors and that is a handicap that keeps me from improving. I am giving it my all. I am at the team’s complete disposal and they are at mine. We have improved the bike since the beginning of the season and now you can tell, but these are not things that are solved from one day to the next. The race won’t be a walk in the park, but we’ll put forth our best effort on the track." 

2. APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI - Aragòn Race

   Posted on 12:00pm Monday 23rd Sep 2019

   OUTSTANDING TEAM EFFORT FOR THE APRILIAS AT ARAGÓN

   ALEIX BATTLES WITH THE TOP TEN AND FINISHES SEVENTH FIVE SECONDS FROM THE PODIUM

   ANDREA, SUFFERING WITH PAIN IN HIS SHOULDER, BATTLES AND FINISHES JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP TEN
   
   
   At Aragón Aprilia takes the best result of the season, with Aleix Espargaró finishing seventh, but close to the leaders, and Andrea Iannone, still suffering with pain in his shoulder after the Misano accident, finishing eleventh.

   After the good sessions yesterday that had placed him on the second row, Aleix started off strong, holding onto his position and fending off an attack by Rossi, staying close to the group of top riders battling for podium positions. The battle with Crutchlow for sixth continued all the way to the last lap when Aleix recovered ground, finishing in the Brit’s slipstream but, more importantly, keeping the gap to five and a half seconds behind the second place finisher in a race where the winner – Marquez – was in a race by himself. This is a great result that placed Aleix among the protagonists in the Spanish race and it is an excellent way to head off for the overseas tour.

   Throughout the race Andrea had to deal with pain in the left shoulder he injured in Misano. He gritted his teeth and, although having to dose out his strength, he remained consistently in the positions battling for the top ten. He missed it by less than half a second, but after a nice battle where he prevailed over Petrucci precisely on the final lap. The week-long break before flying out to Thailand will be essential for his full physical recovery.

   Bradley Smith, in the race with the third RS-GP, finished nineteenth, completing the work he had planned with the Test Team.
   
   
   ALEIX ESPARGARO'
   "Today’s result was good. The team and I gave 100% and we deserve it. At the start, with the fuel tank full, I didn’t have the best feeling with the front end, but things got better and better after a few laps. I had fun. Battling in the leading group is always nice, although the characteristics of the track undoubtedly helped us."
   
   ANDREA IANNONE
   "This weekend I had to grit my teeth and even in the race, the pain in my shoulder forced me to save my energy, especially when grip began to decrease. I am pleased with the team result, but we need to keep working hard, first and foremost, to reduce the gap in acceleration and top speed compared to Aleix. We can’t let this race fool us. This is a track that suits the Aprilia well and we still have a long way to go."
   
   BRADLEY SMITH
   "It was a good day for Aprilia, the result of hard work by everyone. I am happy, first of all, about finishing the race, since in my last wild cards that had not been possible. We took a shot in the dark, starting with an entirely new setting. It was also a functional decision because of the tests we’ll be doing here in a few days, during which we want to give Aleix and Andrea a little extra help for the rest of the season."

    

3. ⚡Ferrari storms over Misano with double win⚡

   Posted on 12:00pm Monday 16th Sep 2019

   At the chequeredflag the gap with second-place rider Garzo was more than two seconds, with the Spaniard now second in the standings 19 points behind Ferrari. There is now only Valencia left, the second and last doubleheader to wrap up the season in November.
    
   Lorenzo Savadori, on the other hand, was 11^that the chequered flag and after staying with the big group and with a good battle with Terol he got to the chequered flag side by side with Terol, missing a top-ten finish for a split second.
    
   It was a perfect weekend for Team Trentino Gresini, who will now get into an almost two-month break before the season finale in Valencia.

4. Pole at Sachsenring: second row for Ferrari, Sava just outside top-ten

   Posted on 12:00pm Sunday 7th Jul 2019

   The E-pole of the newly-born MotoE World Cup was a bit of past and future at the Sachsenring. Picking up from the old-school Superbike Superpole but with the all-electric prototypes by Energica, Team Trentino Gresini MotoE got on track to battle for the first starting grid of the season.
   
   With one single lap for every rider, Savadori and Ferrari make the most of the opportunity. The first one of the two to launch himself on the main straight was Lorenzo Savadori, who did not shine in free practice – due to his FP1 crash – but did well in setting his so-far quickest lap of the weekend (1’29.959secs) and claiming the 11thplace on the grid.
   
   Matteo Ferrari did even better by being the first rider to lap under the 1’29secs mark: the 1’28.792secs time placed him on the second row, so the #11 can now challenge at the front with a great pace on his side.
   
   The opening race in the history of MotoE will begin at 10:00, with the question mark of the rain that is expected to make its appearance tonight at the Sachsenring – and potentially shuffling the cards for the win.

5. MotoE debut: top-ten for Ferrari, Savadori crashes out

   Posted on 8:00pm Friday 5th Jul 2019

   The inaugural day of action at Sachsenring saw the first free practice sessions of the newly-born FIM MotoE World Cup and for Team Trentino Gresini was a bittersweet day.
   
   Matteo Ferrari was very active on track (16 laps completed) and was among the fastest riders as the maiden session got underway before showing a great pace and logging a personal best of 1’29.496secs lap-time, which was competitive enough to place him within today’s top-10. The 11 still has some room for improvement on the second split, but he generally claimed a good feeling with the bike and the track.
   
   On the other side of the pit-box, Lorenzo Savadori did not enjoy a positive day: the #32 experienced a high-side at turn one few minutes into the opening sessions, meaning he could only ride in the afternoon. Lorenzo got away with a painful leg, which did not allow him to be at his best in the afternoon, although he is confident to be back to full fitness tomorrow.
   
   MotoE proceedings will resume tomorrow at 4pm for the single-lap E-Pole qualifying session, which gets underway at 4pm local time (GMT+2).