A GOOD FIRST DAY FOR THE APRILIA RIDERS ON PHILLIP ISLAND
That’s a wrap! The opening day of the Australian weekend was positive for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. After a wet FP1 that made things difficult for the RS-GP and its riders, the dry track conditions in the second session allowed Espargaró and Iannone to move up in the standings.
Aleix took a nice tenth place that provisionally puts him through to the Q2 qualifiers with a time of 1’29.791. Andrea showed marked improvement with respect to recent races and, after battling for a position in the top ten that was decidedly within his potential, he finished thirteenth with a time of 1’30.170, just 379 thousandths behind his teammate and the top ten.
Andrea did even better in the special 20-minute session dedicated to testing the new tyres (obviously not valid for the standings) where he finished second, only behind Márquez, with a time of 1’29.421. A good sign for tomorrow’s sessions which will be decisive in establishing the starting grid order.
ALEIX ESPARGARÒ
“This morning I struggled in the wet, but it was important because fortunately we turned a lot of laps that will let use configure the electronics better in the event of other wet sessions. In the dry I was more competitive, even if the conditions were not easy, with wind and low temperatures, but in any case, I was able to get into the top 10 and that is always an important result.”
ANDREA IANNONE
“Today I had decidedly positive sensations. It’s a pity I wasn’t able to do a good fast lap, but we preferred working on a bike with a quite different setup. In any case, I am rather serene and confident. We need to put a few ideas together to improve, but I think this can be a good weekend for us. In the additional session I used the bike I liked more, and I must say that the new tyres help us a lot. This is an important sign, but now we are thinking about finishing this season in the best possible way.”
