WEATHER PERMITTING, GOOD POTENTIAL FOR APRILIA AND THE SPANISH RIDER

After leading the Friday sessions and proving to be fast in FP4 in race setup, the Espargaró-Aprilia duo took on qualifying setting their sights on the first two rows. The result eluded them only because of traffic on the track that Aleix ran into on all of his flying laps. In spite of it all, the Spanish rider rode his RS-GP to the third row with an eighth place time (1'29.271).

In any case, Aleix can count on the good feedback from the fourth session, the one that most reflects the race situation. In addition to his fourth best time, just a shout from the leaders, Espargaró turned a series of fast laps, showing a rather consistent pace. Unless there is a change in the weather, something that is anything but improbable on this track, a top 5 finish seems to be a goal well within reach for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.

Sam Lowes had a bit of difficulty in qualifying, struggling to maintain the optimum range of use for the tyres due to the low temperatures. With just a few available laps, the English rookie had to settle for the eighth row.


ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I expected more from qualifying after the potential we showed in the other sessions. Unfortunately, I was never able to get in a clean lap because of traffic. There were a few slow riders in front of me and to be honest, I am not able to ride to the limit in these conditions. In any case, we showed that we have a good pace, especially in FP4, which is the session that best reflects our situation for the race. The third row in such a long and demanding race is not a big limit. A few of the riders in front of us don't seem to have a particularly competitive race pace, so fighting for the top 5 is a realistic goal."

SAM LOWES
"I am rather satisfied with our work, although compared to yesterday I had more difficulty maintaining tyre temperature. It was a condition that was quite clear in qualifying, where it is hard to get the tyres into the right temperature range because of the little time available. It's a vicious cycle: you're not able to push because you don't have the right feeling, but you should do just that to warm up the tyres and get them to work right. In the race things are different. We showed that we have a good pace and, as always, my Aprilia is able to manage wear over race distance well."

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NEVER BEFORE HAS APRILIA BEEN SO FAR FORWARD IN MOTOGP
ESPARGARÓ: "WE ARE CONTENDERS FOR THE TOP POSITIONS"

In qualifying, Aleix Espargaró confirmed the qualities demonstrated in free practice. On the Motegi track he took the fourth best time, coming just 44 thousandths from a brilliant first row and now he is one of the protagonists for the race tomorrow. After an excellent Friday (second in the first free practice session and third in the second), Aleix easily went straight through to Q2 where, as he has done throughout this Japanese round, he battled with the best for the top positions, proof of the competitive level he has reached.

In the decisive session, characterised by a damp track with some dry spots, Aleix took advantage of the confidence gained on his Aprilia and stopped the clock at 1'53.947 on his decisive lap, earning the fourth spot and the second row of the starting grid for tomorrow. Never before in MotoGP history has an Aprilia started so far forward. This is a result that rewards Aleix's talent and the hard work of the Italian Racing Department who, throughout the season, have developed the RS-GP, the youngest bike on the entire grid.

Sam Lowes paid the price for the conditions of the Japanese track, difficult to interpret as it began to dry out. However, even though he was not able to reap the benefits of the work done yesterday in the wet, he improved compared to recent races, finishing in 18th place to earn a spot on the sixth row of the starting grid.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I am definitely satisfied, not only with the qualifiers, but with the entire weekend so far. We have been competitive in every session and we showed that we have a great pace in the wet. Qualifying was demanding. The track in mixed conditions is certainly not the optimum situation for us. In any case, I was able to earn a good starting position, the best for Aprilia in MotoGP, and for this I must thank the entire team. We need to keep going like this. As for my choice of tyres if the track is very wet, that is not a problem. I hope it rains tomorrow because in those conditions we demonstrated that we can be extremely fast and consistent. If we look at the practice sessions, we are in the group contending for the top positions, but on Sunday anything can happen. A lot of riders who are having difficulties today, like Rossi and Viñales, will be in the game for the race."

SAM LOWES
"Unfortunately, qualifying was the worst session of the weekend for me. Especially because the conditions were intermediate and I still lack experience with the MotoGP bike. In FP3 I made a mistake on my last flying lap which would have let me go straight through to Q2, whereas in qualifying we decided not to change the tyres and, seeing how our rivals did, that definitely cost us a few tenths. In any case, we worked well in view of the race. If we have a wet track tomorrow, it would not be unrealistic to aim for a top 10 finish."

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