The first tests of the 2017 MotoGP season just ended on the Malaysian track of Sepang. In the able hands of Aleix Espargarò, Aprilia introduced the 2017 version of the RS-GP. Sam Lowes, a rookie in the category, continued work familiarising himself with the Italian MotoGP bike.
Despite the fluctuating weather conditions, the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini accomplished a lot of work in the garage and the 125 and 140 laps done respectively by Aleix and Sam are a testament to this.
Espargarò had good sensations, immediately liking the new version of the RS-GP. In spite of the fact that the priority was to complete a packed schedule of testing to be done, from tyre tests to starting strategies, the Spanish rider did his best lap at 2’00.108, which places him in thirteenth place at the end of the day, just over 7 tenths of a second behind the leader. With two more test sessions scheduled, in Australia and Qatar, Aleix is optimistic about the race début, given the good responses achieved both in terms of times and his technical feeling with the new bike.
His consistency and the final result are an encouraging sign of Sam Lowes’ progress. Astride the 2016 RS-GP, the English rookie continued his apprenticeship. Not too many changes for him, but a lot of laps done in an effort to increase his confidence with a technical package that is decidedly different than the one he used last year. At the end of the three days, Sam expressed satisfaction with the progress made on the various fronts, from riding position to braking. This is progress that the times confirm: an improvement of almost two seconds between the first and third day and the session concluded with a nice 2’01.341.
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