TWO APRILIAS ON THE SIXTH ROW AT THE GP OF THE AMERICAS
The Aprilia RS-GP prototypes ridden by Espargaró and Iannone will start side by side from the sixth row of the starting grid in the GP of the Americas, the third round of the MotoGP Championship which will be held tomorrow on the Austin track.
It is the result of a day of qualifying rendered abnormal by weather conditions which, due to a violent storm in the morning, caused the third timed practice session to be cancelled. This meant that the action skipped directly to FP4, freezing the situation from Friday which, after a promising start in FP1, had left both Aleix and Andrea out of the top ten.
The Q1 session gave the Aprilia Racing Team riders the sixth (Espargaró in 2’06.464) and seventh (Iannone in 2’06.527) place which earned them the sixteenth and seventeenth spots on the grid respectively.
On a traditionally difficult track for the Italian bike, Aleix and Andrea will be looking for a top-ten finish, counting on a race pace that seemed to be better than the qualifiers would indicate.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“It was a bit of a strange day because of the weather. Before the qualifiers, we were only able to lap in the last part of FP4, so we’ll only have tomorrow morning to get the bike ready for the race. Considering our level in terms of pace, we can hope for a better race than the qualifiers and aim for the top ten, although it won’t be easy because we know that this is not a very friendly track for us.”
ANDREA IANNONE
“Not a simple day. I particularly struggled in qualifying with the soft tyre. The balance of the bike changes a lot when the grip conditions change, and it makes a big difference here. We need to stay positive. Right now, getting to the point where we have a bike that is easier to ride is more important than the result. I am giving it my all, trying to ride as cleanly as I can, and I am sure that by working hard in every session, we will be able to improve the bike.”
