TESTING DONE ON TECHNICAL UPGRADES FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON
Just a few hours after the chequered flag had waved over the Brno race, most of the MotoGP teams were on the track again for a day of tests. These were fundamental, especially in view of the coming weekend, where they will be busy in Austria for the eleventh round on the 2017 calendar.
In the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini garage, the work schedules followed two rather different paths. Aleix Espargaró, eighth across the line yesterday, continued developing the technical package that had been introduced just in time for the race in the Czech Republic, testing various setups and even a new swingarm. The Spanish rider turned 51 laps with 1’56.256 being his best time.
Rookie Sam Lowes, on the other hand, focused on improving his own riding style. In fact, along with his team, Sam identified braking and coming out of turns as the most critical phases in adapting to the RS-GP, two elements that come under particular stress on the Austrian Spielberg circuit. His right foot is still sore after his crash on Saturday, so the English rider did a reduced schedule, turning 26 laps, the best one clocking in at 1’57.851.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“It is always a good thing to test after a race, although it is obviously demanding from a physical point of view. We worked well, continuing to explore in depth the new technical package that Aprilia brought and also testing a new swingarm. Our pace with a race tyre was good and that makes me optimistic for the coming races. The engine confirmed that it is working well. We got close to the leaders in terms of top speed and this is also important.”
SAM LOWES
“Despite not doing many laps today, we worked well. I need to improve my riding style, especially in braking where the movements required are very different than on the Moto2 bike. I have a tendency to downshift very quickly, to the detriment of the braking force, but today we took an important step forward in braking habits. The Austrian track is a start-and-stop circuit, where braking and acceleration are fundamental, so we tested a specific setting without focusing on the fast lap here at Brno. My foot still hurts a bit. We stopped early without stressing it so that I’ll be at 100% in Austria.”
