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ALEIX SEVENTH AND PROVISIONALLY IN Q2 AFTER THE FIRST PRACTICE SESSIONS AT BRNO

7 August 2020

He missed the top 10 by just 36 thousandths after FP1 but, with a magnificent afternoon session, Aleix Espargaró rode his Aprilia RS-GP to a provisional seventh place position. This is a good sign for the start of the Brno weekend, despite less-than-perfect grip conditions that have the techs working hard to prepare for the race on Sunday.

Bradley Smith’s performance is one that needs to be examined in detail, since he was one of the very few who did not attempt a time attack with the soft tyre. His gap behind the leader is therefore understandable in terms of the flying lap, whereas in terms of pace and feeling, the situation is rather solid for the Brit.

As already announced, great attention will be placed on preparing for Sunday’s 21 laps. Tyre wear and consistent performance will be the key factors for the race in the Czech Republic, but without neglecting good performance in the qualifiers.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“Overall, it was a better start than in Jerez, thanks in part to the layout of this track. Acceleration from low speed, where we have some difficulties, is not as important here. We tried to move forward calmly, testing a different setting in the afternoon in an attempt to find better grip. Unfortunately, the asphalt conditions are critical. I like racing here in Brno and I find it to be one of the nicest tracks on the Championship calendar, but it could definitely do with a resurfacing.”

BRADLEY SMITH
“Today we focused on gathering some information the engineers need in terms of setup ideas. Aleix tried a few solutions and I tried some others, so now we’ll need to analyse the results in detail. I didn’t attempt any flying laps with the soft tyres. We’ll concentrate on that during FP3 tomorrow morning. The grip conditions are rather critical, which is not surprising since the asphalt is 12 years old by now, and that is a situation that should be discussed in the Safety Commission. For the tyres, the situation is complex. None of the options are perfect, but we’ll have to find the best compromise in terms of grip and duration.”